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Quick Draft STX 7 June 2022

7 June 05:37 - theslipster 7 Wins - 2 Losses
Maindeck
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (10)
1 Negate image
1 Counterspell image
2 Pop Quiz image
1 Arcane Subtraction image
2 Emergent Sequence image
1 Mage Duel image
1 Eureka Moment image
1 Field Trip image
Creature (13)
2 Bookwurm image
2 Quandrix Apprentice image
2 Overgrown Arch image
4 Biomathematician image
1 Kelpie Guide image
1 Quandrix Pledgemage image
1 Quandrix Cultivator image
Land (17)
8 Island image
9 Forest image
Sideboard
1 Wormhole Serpent image
1 Scurrid Colony image
1 Bayou Groff image
1 Campus Guide image
1 Adventurous Impulse image
1 Arcane Subtraction image
1 Reject image
1 Cram Session image
3 Resculpt image
2 Fractal Summoning image
1 Introduction to Prophecy image
1 Essence Infusion image
1 Inkling Summoning image
1 Detention Vortex image
1 Environmental Sciences image
1 Mercurial Transformation image
1 Square Up image
1 Teach by Example image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Negate
Negate image 2.0 Normally Negate isn’t very good in Limited because its so narrow -- but I think it might actually be solid here, since Strixhaven is all about spells, and it has way more than a normal set.
Blade Historian image 4.0 This is a ⅔ with double strike when it attacks, and making your whole board gain double strike on the attack is great, especially because it will mean most of the time the turn it comes down it will immediately make a difference on the board, improving attacks or allowing attacks that weren’t even a good idea before.
Decisive Denial image 3.0 Fight cards are always nice in Limited, and while the best ones give some sort of stats boost, this one makes up for not doing that by being a modal card. So, if the Fight part on this works as removal for you, you’ll probably use it, but if a situation comes upw here you can counter your opponents thing before that, you probably choose the counter option. Neither option here is amazing, but having a choice between them is very nice.
Witherbloom Apprentice image 3.5 A two mana 2/2 that drains the opponent every time you play or copy an instant or sorcery is a solid deal, especially because BG can take advantage of the life gain.
Symmetry Sage image 2.5 So the idea here is that you can make this into a one mana 2/2 flyer if you have enough instants and sorceries lying around. For the most part, giving others of your creatures base power 2 probably won’t be an upgrade, or if it is one, it will be a very small one, and that certainly hurts this card’s case a little bit. I like that this can rumble in the air when you use spells and all that, but I’m not overly impressed here.
Expanded Anatomy image 3.0 This looks like it wouldn’t be especially good, but because you can choose to get it at exactly the right time (assuming you Learn), it often has a major impact on the game, allowing an attack that you just didn’t have before.
Essence Infusion image 2.0 This gives a pretty efficient boost of two +1/+1 Counters, and the lifelink until end of turn is likely to make it so your creature can get in. However, it is a Sorcery, and not a great card for interacting. It does work nicely in BG Lifegain and BW +1/+1 counters though, and that probably increases its playability.
Pillardrop Rescuer image 3.0 This is a pretty nice Common. By turn 5 you’ll often have something this can bring back without really trying, so just playing this, getting something back, and having a 2/2 flyer is going to feel pretty good. I think basically every White deck in the format will want the first copy of this.
Biomathematician image 3.5 A three-mana 2/2 that makes a 1/1 is generally pretty good in Limited, and this comes with significant upside between the +1/+1 counter and the additional value you can get from having other fractals. This seems like a card in the lower range of first pickable, and a really strong Common.
Quandrix Campus image 3.0 These are all good fixing, and then all have a nice late-game mana sink to help improve your draws when you’re flooding out. You can take these over most medium cards, especially if you are interested in splashing or they are on color for you.
Burrog Befuddler image 2.5 This seems like a solid two-drop. Flash + the ability to lower a creature’s power will sometimes give you a pretty attractive blocking situation, but even if this just prevents one damage and lets you add to the board with a two-mana 2/1, that’s fine too.
Stonebound Mentor image 2.5 This starts with solid stats, and then it has an ability that will fit nicely in RW decks. As we’ve seen, RW has ways to exile cards from the graveyard for value as well as ways to return cards from the graveyard to your hand or the battlefield. Those will all trigger the Scry here, which will be some nice incidental value.
Arrogant Poet image 2.5 We have seen lots of two mana 2/1s that gain flying when they attack be pretty good, and while this is admittedly worse as a result of having to pay life to make that happen, it will still be a nice card to have in Black Aggressive decks. Gaining flying goes a long way towards making this two drop stay relevant. It slots well into the Black-Green deck, which is good at gaining life, and the +1/+1 counter deck, which likes putting counters on evasive creatures.
Lorehold Campus image 3.0 These are all good fixing, and then all have a nice late-game mana sink to help improve your draws when you’re flooding out. You can take these over most medium cards, especially if you are interested in splashing or they are on color for you.
Bury in Books image 3.0 Totally Lost is usually a kind of passable card, and this is mostly a better version of it. Sure, it can only target creatures, but Totally Lost does that 90% of the time anyway, and the fact that this gets discounted to only three mana when you hit an attacking creature is pretty good. Remember, when you put something back in your opponent’s deck, you’re actually trading 1-for-1, not just getting tempo out of the deal, and the fact they will usually have to wait a whole turn to get that card is nice. This seems like a pretty good Blue common, I think you always run the first copy.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Bookwurm
Duress image 1.5 // 3.0 This will be a little better in a format with more noncreature spells, but it probably is still going to be better out of your sideboard.
Augmenter Pugilist image 4.0 Both sides of this have their place. The Pugilist side is far less situational since it is just an efficient creature -- and one that gets really scary in the late game, but sometimes you’ll want to cast the Echoing Equation side of things -- you pretty much only do that when you can swing for lethal though, and it will sometimes enable that.
Wormhole Serpent image 3.0 This has passable stats and a pretty nice activated ability that will sometimes allow you to close out games. It is costly to be sure, but there are two Blue archetypes in this format that love mana (UG and UR), so having a mana sink like these fits pretty well into those decks.
Bookwurm image 4.0 This is one of the best win conditions for both the UG and UR ramp decks. If it comes down, it is hard to beat, since it brings a huge body, gains you some life and gives you an extra card. And it doesn’t end there! Even if your opponent gets rid of it, it will be coming back.
Introduction to Annihilation image 3.0 Giving yourself access to a removal spell any time you Learn is pretty nice. Obviously, the fact your opponent draws a card is rough, but you generally just end up breaking even, since you’ll get Introduction to Annihilation for free when you learn.
Spined Karok image 1.5 This has alright defensive stats for the cost. You’ll play it sometimes if that’s what you need. But mostly you hope you won’t need it.
Biomathematician image 3.5 A three-mana 2/2 that makes a 1/1 is generally pretty good in Limited, and this comes with significant upside between the +1/+1 counter and the additional value you can get from having other fractals. This seems like a card in the lower range of first pickable, and a really strong Common.
Archway Commons image 1.5 This does give you fixing, but at a pretty real cost. It enters tapped and requires another land to tap for it to come into play, effectively making it cost one mana. That’s some serious slowness, but you’ll run it if you need the fixing.
Serpentine Curve image 2.5 In many Blue decks in this format, this tends to make pretty efficient creatures, and is worth playing.
Illustrious Historian image 3.0 Nothing this card does is efficient, but that’s kind of not the point. It is a card you can play early on curve, and then trade with something, and the in the later game you get a 3/2 out of your graveyard. That could be a 2-for-1, even if it is a kind of expensive one.
Cram Session image 1.5 So yeah, BG has a lot of life gain payoffs as we’ve seen throughout the week and as we will continue to see in this video, so a card like Cram Session is a little bit better than it would normally be, I think. Although, I still don’t think it is great. It is basically a bad Revitalize – and Revitalize isn’t great to begin with!
Exhilarating Elocution image 2.5 This gives a nice permanent boost to one creature - +2/+2 and pumping the rest of the board is nice too. It will often enable a pretty nice attack – but it does really need a significant board state to be worthwhile.
Infuse with Vitality image 2.5 This is a nice trick, one that virtually guarantees your creature will both kill whatever it is in combat with AND survive. Well, technically your creature can still die of course, but it will come back right away so, yeah. Incidental life gain tacked on to help out BG with its life gain synergies works for me! Now, as good of a trick as this is, it is still a trick, and still highly situational and risky and all of that.
Lorehold Campus image 3.0 These are all good fixing, and then all have a nice late-game mana sink to help improve your draws when you’re flooding out. You can take these over most medium cards, especially if you are interested in splashing or they are on color for you.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Quandrix Apprentice
Rootha, Mercurial Artist image 4.0 She is way easier to copy spells with than she looks, and the tempo loss you get from that is well worth the card advantage.
Quandrix Apprentice image 3.5 This kind of effect is always nice, especially in the early game when you really need to hit your land drops. Either way, this will draw you a card most of the time when you play a spell, and even if it is always a land, that is a pretty big bonus to add to all of your spells. As we’ve seen UG also likes having lots of lands, so this is a big enabler for those decks.
Detention Vortex image 1.5 This isn’t great. It might look like an efficient removal spell, but it basically signs you up to go down a card in the future, because your opponent can just pay some mana to get rid of it. It isn’t completely horrendous in more aggressive BW decks, since no matter what it does make a creature unable to block for a turn – but that’s pretty much the only place you’ll play this, and even then it won’t always make the cut.
Elemental Summoning image 1.5 // 3.0 This is yet another lesson that you wouldn’t really ever want in your main deck, as a 5-mana 4/4 just isn’t good these days, but being able to draw this when you “Learn” sounds pretty good!
Springmane Cervin image 2.5 This is a solid creature for Green decks. It has alright stats, and the fact it gains life will enable a number of synergies in this format.
First Day of Class image 1.5 If you’re only able to make one creature benefit from this it won’t feel all that good, even if you have a Lesson to grab. After all, most of the Lessons are actually mediocre cards, but they’re worthwhile because you get them for free when you Learn. So, you kind of need your card with Learn to do something worth close to a card, and if you’re just getting one counter and giving one thing Haste, I’m not sure you’re doing it here. “Learn” is sort of like “draw a card,” and does give you some card selection, but those cards to choose from just aren’t gonna be awesome. Keep in mind you can also choose to rummage instead of getting a Lesson, and sometimes that will be best. Now, where this does start to get interesting is when you play multiple creatures in a turn, which won’t be easy if you’re just casting a regular ol’ creature spell, but if you have ways to make multiple tokens in a turn, this will start to feel pretty good. All in all, I’m not super high on this to start, just because I don’t think it will be all that easy to make it work, but I could see myself being wrong here.
Stonerise Spirit image 2.5 This starts out with really reasonable stats, and then in the late game it can enable your payoffs for moving stuff out of your graveyard while also giving your other creatures flying. That late game mana sink is going to end games sometimes, but keep in mind that it is pretty expensive to use the ability, so you often won’t be able to make more than one thing fly.
Make Your Mark image 2.5 So, the boost here isn’t going to always allow your creature to outright win combat, but that’s okay, because if your creature doesn’t win combat, you still get something back – a 3/2 Spirit. Obviously, this will feel best when you use it to help you kill a creature in combat, AND get the spirit, but even just getting the Spirit isn’t too bad.
Arcane Subtraction image 3.0 This is another Learn card that is way better than it looks! The effect doesn’t always do something worthwhile – fogging a single creature isn’t always impactful, but when the fail case is fogging a creature and drawing a card – while also triggering some magecraft – you are in a pretty good place with this card, especially because it has the very big upside of sometimes helping you kill a creature in combat.
Tangletrap image 1.5 // 3.0 Kind of funny this isn’t a lesson, I almost felt like it would be! Anyway, we see these modal “Destory artifact or flyer” type cards a lot, and they’re always alright. This one probably isn’t one you want to put in your main deck because this format doesn’t have that many artifacts. However, if you see 5 or so targets against someone – both flyers and artifacts – it can be a pretty nice sideboard card.
Promising Duskmage image 2.5 This is a solid little +1/+1 counter payoff. Sometimes when you put a counter on something it is a bummer that it gets killed, but this makes sure to give you some value no matter what!
Vortex Runner image 2.5 This is underwhelming as a three-drop on curve, but in the late game it can become a legitimate win condition, especially in UG decks which are particularly good at getting lots of lands in play.
Relic Sloth image 2.5 This isn’t THAT far from being Serra Angel, right? I mean Menace is basically flying. Okay, I’m exaggerating a little bit here, but kind of to make a point. This is a pretty good vanilla creature, and while it costs 5, I imagine it makes the cut a lot of the time.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Counterspell
Counterspell image 3.5 Ah, Counterspell. It can counter any spell! No questions asked! That’s not something we get in Limited these days, so I’m glad the Mystical Archive is giving us a chance to do it. Now, counter-magic in Limited is generally worse than it is in constructed, mostly because building a “draw-go” type deck is much harder to do in Limited than in constructed, where you can choose to have a deck of all instant speed stuff, and that’s just hard to do. Still, this is very efficient and it counters anything, and that is enough to get over the downside of countermagic in Limited.
Quintorius, Field Historian image 4.0 This guy is a great payoff for the RW deck. Now, one thing that’s kind of a bummer is that he doesn’t give you any value all on his own, but if you’re doing the stuff that RW wants you to do in this format, he is going to be a crazy good value engine. I do think the fact that he doesn’t have self-contained power all on his own holds him back some, but I still imagine I’ll be taking him early and often.
Creative Outburst image 3.5 This is expensive, but because it lets you discard it to make a treasure early, part of that downside is mitigated against. Casting this will feel really good, as doing 5 damage to something and drawing a card chosen from among five is a really good deal. UR is all about big spells like this, so it fits right in, while also supporting the archetype’s ability to cast those spells since it can make treasure.
Spirit Summoning image 2.5 RW has some spirit synergies, so this gets a few extra points. It is a nice lesson to have like all the other summonings, because it can pretty much always do something.
Reject image 1.5 This is a narrow mana leak, and in most formats I would think it is pretty reasonable, since creatures are so plentiful. This format is an odd one though, with fewer creatures than normal and way more instants and sorceries, so this ends up being more narrow than it normally would be, and it still has the problem of having diminishing values as the game goes on, because your opponent will just be able to pay the mana eventually.
Witherbloom Campus image 3.0 These are all good fixing, and then all have a nice late-game mana sink to help improve your draws when you’re flooding out. You can take these over most medium cards, especially if you are interested in splashing or they are on color for you.
Leyline Invocation image 2.5 This is often a 6-mana 8/8 or something like that in the late game for UG decks, and that makes it a solid thing to have at the top of your curve.
Lorehold Campus image 3.0 These are all good fixing, and then all have a nice late-game mana sink to help improve your draws when you’re flooding out. You can take these over most medium cards, especially if you are interested in splashing or they are on color for you.
First Day of Class image 1.5 If you’re only able to make one creature benefit from this it won’t feel all that good, even if you have a Lesson to grab. After all, most of the Lessons are actually mediocre cards, but they’re worthwhile because you get them for free when you Learn. So, you kind of need your card with Learn to do something worth close to a card, and if you’re just getting one counter and giving one thing Haste, I’m not sure you’re doing it here. “Learn” is sort of like “draw a card,” and does give you some card selection, but those cards to choose from just aren’t gonna be awesome. Keep in mind you can also choose to rummage instead of getting a Lesson, and sometimes that will be best. Now, where this does start to get interesting is when you play multiple creatures in a turn, which won’t be easy if you’re just casting a regular ol’ creature spell, but if you have ways to make multiple tokens in a turn, this will start to feel pretty good. All in all, I’m not super high on this to start, just because I don’t think it will be all that easy to make it work, but I could see myself being wrong here.
Star Pupil image 2.5 This is a nice one drop for the BW deck, the deck most interested in +1/+1 counters. Even if you have no other synergy, this is sort of passable since it can move its one counter elsewhere, but if you put counters on it early, you won’t feel nearly as bad when it dies – provided you have another creature. This seems like a key common for BW.
Archway Commons image 1.5 This does give you fixing, but at a pretty real cost. It enters tapped and requires another land to tap for it to come into play, effectively making it cost one mana. That’s some serious slowness, but you’ll run it if you need the fixing.
Silverquill Campus image 3.0 These are all good fixing, and then all have a nice late-game mana sink to help improve your draws when you’re flooding out. You can take these over most medium cards, especially if you are interested in splashing or they are on color for you.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Overgrown Arch
Divine Gambit image 2.0 This ended up being better than I expected in Kaldheim – that’s not to say its good, but it is a solid playable. You basically treat it as a late game removal spell, and if you look at it that way, it tends to do the job with very little downside. This format also has fewer permanents than normal, and that could matter.
Overgrown Arch image 3.0 We’ve seen walls that can cash themselves in for cards before, and they’re always kind of mediocre. However, thsi one does add life gain to the mix, which is something that can really add up -- especially because the BG deck in this format really likes repeatable sources of life gain to power all of its cards.
Pest Summoning image 3.5 So, this is a lesson that I think you don’t feel terrible about playing in your main deck, especially because it provides sacrifice fodder and life gain, which BG is interested in.. Now, if you have cards with “Learn” it will be better, as it gives you a card that does something useful on just about every board state, while some of the other lessons are more situational.
Twinscroll Shaman image 2.0 Double strike ½ for three isn’t too bad, and makes this a good place to put counters or otherwise enhance it. That said, that doesn’t seem to be a HUGE focus for Red in this set, strange as that is.
Oggyar Battle-Seer image 2.0 This has mediocre stats, even with Haste, and while tapping to Scry is good, I don’t think it does enough to overcome this card’s inefficiency. You won’t always play this.
Waterfall Aerialist image 2.5 A 4-mana 3/1 flyer is generally a playable card, it hits pretty hard in the air for the mana cost. 1 toughness is certainly a liability though, since it can die to everything, even the cheapest removal spells! The Aerliast gets around that, though, with Ward, which means that it will be tough for your opponent to get a great deal on their removal spell. This set does have 2/1 flying tokens though, and that hurts the value of a card like this significantly.
Promising Duskmage image 2.5 This is a solid little +1/+1 counter payoff. Sometimes when you put a counter on something it is a bummer that it gets killed, but this makes sure to give you some value no matter what!
Pillardrop Rescuer image 3.0 This is a pretty nice Common. By turn 5 you’ll often have something this can bring back without really trying, so just playing this, getting something back, and having a 2/2 flyer is going to feel pretty good. I think basically every White deck in the format will want the first copy of this.
Scurrid Colony image 2.5 This is an alright two-drop in the early game, and when the game gets late it becomes bigger. Now, a 4/4 isn’t probably going to be a huge gamechanger by the time you have eight lands, but it won’t hurt either.
Spectacle Mage image 3.0 This is a Wind Drake with some nice upside for UR, which is a color pair that likes big spells. This seems like a key common for that deck.
Lorehold Campus image 3.0 These are all good fixing, and then all have a nice late-game mana sink to help improve your draws when you’re flooding out. You can take these over most medium cards, especially if you are interested in splashing or they are on color for you.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Biomathematician
Tend the Pests image 3.0 Using this in response to removal and stuff like that will feel especially good, but it won’t feel as bad to use in other situations either. Besides, there are a lot of Sacrifice outlets and the like in BG in this set, so all those Pests can really come in handy. The life they gain you matters too! You do need a creature large enough to make it worth it, but that’s not too difficult.
Expanded Anatomy image 3.0 This looks like it wouldn’t be especially good, but because you can choose to get it at exactly the right time (assuming you Learn), it often has a major impact on the game, allowing an attack that you just didn’t have before.
Soothsayer Adept image 1.5 This card has okay stats and it can loot, and that’s enough for it to be a reasonable inclusion in most decks. Looting isn’t a bad mana sink to have late, as it can really improve your draws.
Spined Karok image 1.5 This has alright defensive stats for the cost. You’ll play it sometimes if that’s what you need. But mostly you hope you won’t need it.
Essence Infusion image 2.0 This gives a pretty efficient boost of two +1/+1 Counters, and the lifelink until end of turn is likely to make it so your creature can get in. However, it is a Sorcery, and not a great card for interacting. It does work nicely in BG Lifegain and BW +1/+1 counters though, and that probably increases its playability.
Spiteful Squad image 2.5 4-mana 2/2s with Deathtouch normally arent the most exicting thing int he world. They can trade fo ranything, but doing that at 4 mana isn’t exactly exciting. I like that they compensated for that here by letting the Band put it +1/+1 counters on other stuff when it dies. This also means that it is a good place to put counters, since it will do something with them when it dies, unlike most creatures.
Arcane Subtraction image 3.0 This is another Learn card that is way better than it looks! The effect doesn’t always do something worthwhile – fogging a single creature isn’t always impactful, but when the fail case is fogging a creature and drawing a card – while also triggering some magecraft – you are in a pretty good place with this card, especially because it has the very big upside of sometimes helping you kill a creature in combat.
Make Your Mark image 2.5 So, the boost here isn’t going to always allow your creature to outright win combat, but that’s okay, because if your creature doesn’t win combat, you still get something back – a 3/2 Spirit. Obviously, this will feel best when you use it to help you kill a creature in combat, AND get the spirit, but even just getting the Spirit isn’t too bad.
Biomathematician image 3.5 A three-mana 2/2 that makes a 1/1 is generally pretty good in Limited, and this comes with significant upside between the +1/+1 counter and the additional value you can get from having other fractals. This seems like a card in the lower range of first pickable, and a really strong Common.
Twinscroll Shaman image 2.0 Double strike ½ for three isn’t too bad, and makes this a good place to put counters or otherwise enhance it. That said, that doesn’t seem to be a HUGE focus for Red in this set, strange as that is.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Adventurous Impulse
Adventurous Impulse image 2.5 This is a fine card for Green decks. Its nice that if you’re flooding it can help you get out, and if you’re desperate for a mana drop it can help you there too. It is also a cheap spell which is always upside in this set.
Symmetry Sage image 2.5 So the idea here is that you can make this into a one mana 2/2 flyer if you have enough instants and sorceries lying around. For the most part, giving others of your creatures base power 2 probably won’t be an upgrade, or if it is one, it will be a very small one, and that certainly hurts this card’s case a little bit. I like that this can rumble in the air when you use spells and all that, but I’m not overly impressed here.
Plumb the Forbidden image 3.5 So this has a reasonable fail case, and a potentially really amazing ceiling. Two mana to pay 1 life and draw a card isn’t terrible, and if you start copying it, it gets a lot nice. It is also an Instant, so you will have a really wide window of ways to use this to get the extra copies – like after setting up blocks that will kill your creatures anyway, or in response to removal. Sacrifincg Pests to this will be particularly satisfying, because you’ll even gain the life back! Keep in mind, too, that everything with Magecraft will trigger for every single copy. Now, there will be times where you just can’t afford to make the copies, but like I said I think this has a reasonable fail case.
Thrilling Discovery image 1.5 I really want this to be good, because I am probably the most excited about Lorehold in this set -- but I just don’t think it will be that great. Early, it could be a nice way to both load up your graveyard for various synergies and improve your card quality, but there will be situations where you just can’t really make use of this, either because you don’t want to give up cards or you flat out can’t.
Blood Age General image 2.5 This is a Bear with some nice upside for the RW deck, which will have plenty of Spirits.
Sudden Breakthrough image 1.5 This is a decent trick -- it gives a boost large enough for your creature to win combat most of the time -- and it gives you a Treasure for some fixing and ramping. But you’ll probably cut it a lot, after all, it is still a trick -- and that means it is risky and highly situational.
Square Up image 1.0 This kind of card never really comes through. You can sort of treat it like a trick, but it is just too situational to even be reliable in that capacity. The idea here I guess is to use it on Fractals, but even that isn’t worth it to me.
Make Your Mark image 2.5 So, the boost here isn’t going to always allow your creature to outright win combat, but that’s okay, because if your creature doesn’t win combat, you still get something back – a 3/2 Spirit. Obviously, this will feel best when you use it to help you kill a creature in combat, AND get the spirit, but even just getting the Spirit isn’t too bad.
Resculpt image 1.0 People always overrate this type of card. They think of scenarios where you will exile one of your own artifacts or creatures and get a 4/4 out of the deal at Instant speed, and then you block an attacker or something. Or you use it in response to a removal spell and still get a 4/4 and all of that. But every time we see a card like this, even the one that made a 4/4 Angel, they just never line up as well as you might think at first. That situation I described just won’t happen as much as you want it to, and you’ll often find yourself in situations where this just isn’t worth casting. Now, it does have the ability to also go after opposing permanents, but giving your opponent a 4/4 in that case isn’t especially good most of the time either.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Pop Quiz
Whirlwind Denial image 2.5 We saw this card not too long ago in Theros Beyond Death, and it was decent enough there. Mostly, it was a 3-mana counterspell, it wasn’t often countering more than one thing -- and, it was like a C there. This set does have a few things that will make it better, though – for one thing, there is spell copying, and for another, there are magecraft triggers. With those two things going on, this will end up hitting 2 spells more often than you might think.
Grinning Ignus image 2.0 Basically, the Ignus gives you something of a ritual effect. It gives you a short-term mana boost, but when you actually look at the mana you spend -- which is 3 to play it and one to use its ability, you actually come out behind! Still, the UR deck in this format looks interested in getting a bunch of mana in single turns for big crazy spells, so it probably has a home.
Charge Through image 1.0 In your typical format, this wouldn’t be close to a 0.0. It replaces itself, but the effect it has can be useless or close to it a huge chunk of the time. After all, you need blocks to go a certain way, and you need creatures of a certain size for Trample to even matter. However, in a format with lots of spells payoffs -- including in Green --, I think this will make the cut sometimes.
Oggyar Battle-Seer image 2.0 This has mediocre stats, even with Haste, and while tapping to Scry is good, I don’t think it does enough to overcome this card’s inefficiency. You won’t always play this.
Professor's Warning image 1.5 If this card only did one of these two things, it would be terrible. One mana just isn’t a good rate for either of those things, even if they can help you out sometimes, what it does often won’t be worth a card. Making this modal make it better of course, and so does the fact that this set loves cheap spells as a result of Magecraft and other spell payoffs.
Pop Quiz image 3.0 This often just feels like a better Divination, since it draws you one card from your deck and one non-land card that is useful in your situation with the learn part. And its an Instant!
Burrog Befuddler image 2.5 This seems like a solid two-drop. Flash + the ability to lower a creature’s power will sometimes give you a pretty attractive blocking situation, but even if this just prevents one damage and lets you add to the board with a two-mana 2/1, that’s fine too.
Fuming Effigy image 2.5 This is mostly here for the RW deck, which makes cards leave the graveyard pretty often. This is likely to do a few damage in that deck, in addition to having reasonable stats to start with.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Biomathematician
Symmetry Sage image 2.5 So the idea here is that you can make this into a one mana 2/2 flyer if you have enough instants and sorceries lying around. For the most part, giving others of your creatures base power 2 probably won’t be an upgrade, or if it is one, it will be a very small one, and that certainly hurts this card’s case a little bit. I like that this can rumble in the air when you use spells and all that, but I’m not overly impressed here.
Essence Infusion image 2.0 This gives a pretty efficient boost of two +1/+1 Counters, and the lifelink until end of turn is likely to make it so your creature can get in. However, it is a Sorcery, and not a great card for interacting. It does work nicely in BG Lifegain and BW +1/+1 counters though, and that probably increases its playability.
Pillardrop Rescuer image 3.0 This is a pretty nice Common. By turn 5 you’ll often have something this can bring back without really trying, so just playing this, getting something back, and having a 2/2 flyer is going to feel pretty good. I think basically every White deck in the format will want the first copy of this.
Biomathematician image 3.5 A three-mana 2/2 that makes a 1/1 is generally pretty good in Limited, and this comes with significant upside between the +1/+1 counter and the additional value you can get from having other fractals. This seems like a card in the lower range of first pickable, and a really strong Common.
Burrog Befuddler image 2.5 This seems like a solid two-drop. Flash + the ability to lower a creature’s power will sometimes give you a pretty attractive blocking situation, but even if this just prevents one damage and lets you add to the board with a two-mana 2/1, that’s fine too.
Stonebound Mentor image 2.5 This starts with solid stats, and then it has an ability that will fit nicely in RW decks. As we’ve seen, RW has ways to exile cards from the graveyard for value as well as ways to return cards from the graveyard to your hand or the battlefield. Those will all trigger the Scry here, which will be some nice incidental value.
Lorehold Campus image 3.0 These are all good fixing, and then all have a nice late-game mana sink to help improve your draws when you’re flooding out. You can take these over most medium cards, especially if you are interested in splashing or they are on color for you.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Wormhole Serpent
Duress image 1.5 // 3.0 This will be a little better in a format with more noncreature spells, but it probably is still going to be better out of your sideboard.
Wormhole Serpent image 3.0 This has passable stats and a pretty nice activated ability that will sometimes allow you to close out games. It is costly to be sure, but there are two Blue archetypes in this format that love mana (UG and UR), so having a mana sink like these fits pretty well into those decks.
Spined Karok image 1.5 This has alright defensive stats for the cost. You’ll play it sometimes if that’s what you need. But mostly you hope you won’t need it.
Archway Commons image 1.5 This does give you fixing, but at a pretty real cost. It enters tapped and requires another land to tap for it to come into play, effectively making it cost one mana. That’s some serious slowness, but you’ll run it if you need the fixing.
Exhilarating Elocution image 2.5 This gives a nice permanent boost to one creature - +2/+2 and pumping the rest of the board is nice too. It will often enable a pretty nice attack – but it does really need a significant board state to be worthwhile.
Lorehold Campus image 3.0 These are all good fixing, and then all have a nice late-game mana sink to help improve your draws when you’re flooding out. You can take these over most medium cards, especially if you are interested in splashing or they are on color for you.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Arcane Subtraction
Detention Vortex image 1.5 This isn’t great. It might look like an efficient removal spell, but it basically signs you up to go down a card in the future, because your opponent can just pay some mana to get rid of it. It isn’t completely horrendous in more aggressive BW decks, since no matter what it does make a creature unable to block for a turn – but that’s pretty much the only place you’ll play this, and even then it won’t always make the cut.
First Day of Class image 1.5 If you’re only able to make one creature benefit from this it won’t feel all that good, even if you have a Lesson to grab. After all, most of the Lessons are actually mediocre cards, but they’re worthwhile because you get them for free when you Learn. So, you kind of need your card with Learn to do something worth close to a card, and if you’re just getting one counter and giving one thing Haste, I’m not sure you’re doing it here. “Learn” is sort of like “draw a card,” and does give you some card selection, but those cards to choose from just aren’t gonna be awesome. Keep in mind you can also choose to rummage instead of getting a Lesson, and sometimes that will be best. Now, where this does start to get interesting is when you play multiple creatures in a turn, which won’t be easy if you’re just casting a regular ol’ creature spell, but if you have ways to make multiple tokens in a turn, this will start to feel pretty good. All in all, I’m not super high on this to start, just because I don’t think it will be all that easy to make it work, but I could see myself being wrong here.
Make Your Mark image 2.5 So, the boost here isn’t going to always allow your creature to outright win combat, but that’s okay, because if your creature doesn’t win combat, you still get something back – a 3/2 Spirit. Obviously, this will feel best when you use it to help you kill a creature in combat, AND get the spirit, but even just getting the Spirit isn’t too bad.
Arcane Subtraction image 3.0 This is another Learn card that is way better than it looks! The effect doesn’t always do something worthwhile – fogging a single creature isn’t always impactful, but when the fail case is fogging a creature and drawing a card – while also triggering some magecraft – you are in a pretty good place with this card, especially because it has the very big upside of sometimes helping you kill a creature in combat.
Tangletrap image 1.5 // 3.0 Kind of funny this isn’t a lesson, I almost felt like it would be! Anyway, we see these modal “Destory artifact or flyer” type cards a lot, and they’re always alright. This one probably isn’t one you want to put in your main deck because this format doesn’t have that many artifacts. However, if you see 5 or so targets against someone – both flyers and artifacts – it can be a pretty nice sideboard card.
Pack 1 Pick 12: Reject
Reject image 1.5 This is a narrow mana leak, and in most formats I would think it is pretty reasonable, since creatures are so plentiful. This format is an odd one though, with fewer creatures than normal and way more instants and sorceries, so this ends up being more narrow than it normally would be, and it still has the problem of having diminishing values as the game goes on, because your opponent will just be able to pay the mana eventually.
Lorehold Campus image 3.0 These are all good fixing, and then all have a nice late-game mana sink to help improve your draws when you’re flooding out. You can take these over most medium cards, especially if you are interested in splashing or they are on color for you.
First Day of Class image 1.5 If you’re only able to make one creature benefit from this it won’t feel all that good, even if you have a Lesson to grab. After all, most of the Lessons are actually mediocre cards, but they’re worthwhile because you get them for free when you Learn. So, you kind of need your card with Learn to do something worth close to a card, and if you’re just getting one counter and giving one thing Haste, I’m not sure you’re doing it here. “Learn” is sort of like “draw a card,” and does give you some card selection, but those cards to choose from just aren’t gonna be awesome. Keep in mind you can also choose to rummage instead of getting a Lesson, and sometimes that will be best. Now, where this does start to get interesting is when you play multiple creatures in a turn, which won’t be easy if you’re just casting a regular ol’ creature spell, but if you have ways to make multiple tokens in a turn, this will start to feel pretty good. All in all, I’m not super high on this to start, just because I don’t think it will be all that easy to make it work, but I could see myself being wrong here.
Archway Commons image 1.5 This does give you fixing, but at a pretty real cost. It enters tapped and requires another land to tap for it to come into play, effectively making it cost one mana. That’s some serious slowness, but you’ll run it if you need the fixing.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Scurrid Colony
Oggyar Battle-Seer image 2.0 This has mediocre stats, even with Haste, and while tapping to Scry is good, I don’t think it does enough to overcome this card’s inefficiency. You won’t always play this.
Scurrid Colony image 2.5 This is an alright two-drop in the early game, and when the game gets late it becomes bigger. Now, a 4/4 isn’t probably going to be a huge gamechanger by the time you have eight lands, but it won’t hurt either.
Lorehold Campus image 3.0 These are all good fixing, and then all have a nice late-game mana sink to help improve your draws when you’re flooding out. You can take these over most medium cards, especially if you are interested in splashing or they are on color for you.
Pack 1 Pick 14: Arcane Subtraction
Arcane Subtraction image 3.0 This is another Learn card that is way better than it looks! The effect doesn’t always do something worthwhile – fogging a single creature isn’t always impactful, but when the fail case is fogging a creature and drawing a card – while also triggering some magecraft – you are in a pretty good place with this card, especially because it has the very big upside of sometimes helping you kill a creature in combat.
Make Your Mark image 2.5 So, the boost here isn’t going to always allow your creature to outright win combat, but that’s okay, because if your creature doesn’t win combat, you still get something back – a 3/2 Spirit. Obviously, this will feel best when you use it to help you kill a creature in combat, AND get the spirit, but even just getting the Spirit isn’t too bad.
Pack 1 Pick 15: Resculpt
Resculpt image 1.0 People always overrate this type of card. They think of scenarios where you will exile one of your own artifacts or creatures and get a 4/4 out of the deal at Instant speed, and then you block an attacker or something. Or you use it in response to a removal spell and still get a 4/4 and all of that. But every time we see a card like this, even the one that made a 4/4 Angel, they just never line up as well as you might think at first. That situation I described just won’t happen as much as you want it to, and you’ll often find yourself in situations where this just isn’t worth casting. Now, it does have the ability to also go after opposing permanents, but giving your opponent a 4/4 in that case isn’t especially good most of the time either.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Emergent Sequence
Revitalize image 1.5 In most formats, this card is pretty underwhelming. With spellcraft being a thing in this set, it will probably be a little bit better than normal -- and that’s probably true of all cantrips, but it still isn’t something you should go after that hard, and you’ll cut it more than you’ll play it.
Devastating Mastery image 4.5 You’ll mostly just want to play this for the full 6 mana, as allowing your opponent to return permanents to their hand basically guarantees they will come ahead in the exchange. Like always, board sweepers are really strong and have absolutely irreplaceable effects, and that makes them cards that you can go after pretty highly. Sure, they are a little less ideal if you’re an aggro deck, but even then, you should never really be cutting a boardsweeper. There just aren’t many things that can reshape the game this way. Still, the mana cost here is pretty difficult.
Emergent Sequence image 3.5 This a lot like Rampant Growth, which is pretty solid as far as fixing and ramping go! What’s great is, it actually adds to the board in a meaningful way in addition to ramping and fixing for you, since the land will also be a 1/1 at a minimum and making it a 2/2 won’t be particularly difficult. It will feel a lot like a mana dork that comes into play tapped, and that’s pretty good! Now, that comes with some downsides, like if you search up your one land for a splash and now your opponent can kill it with a cheap burn spell, but I think its well worth it. This format has lots of payoffs for ramping too.
Mascot Interception image 1.5 So, there are a reasonable number of tokens in this format -- that’s a product of a set with an instant and sorcery theme, so being able to use this to steal one for only a single mana is some actual real upside. Note, by the way, if you need to do 2 more damage with your own creature, you can use this on your own guy too, and if its YOUR token, it also only costs one Red. Still, these Threaten effects tend to be highly situational. That said, by being so cheap a reasonable chunk of the time, it does overcome some of that downside. I have a hard time believing in Threatens until I see them work out in a format.
Practical Research image 3.5 This is pretty close to being Rain of Revelation, and that was a pretty great draw spell. Sometimes you won’t want to discard the instant or sorcery, especially if you ended up with a couple lands you don’t need, but you still end up seeing a lot of cards for a reasonable cost, and -- importantly, at instant speed.
Introduction to Prophecy image 2.5 When you play a card with Learn, drawing this card will feel pretty nice, since it is additional value. Then, in the later part of the game, you can cast it and get some nice card selection. Think of it sort of like you would a creature who has an expensive activated ability, but it is an ability that gives you something to do with your mana late.
Promising Duskmage image 2.5 This is a solid little +1/+1 counter payoff. Sometimes when you put a counter on something it is a bummer that it gets killed, but this makes sure to give you some value no matter what!
Pop Quiz image 3.0 This often just feels like a better Divination, since it draws you one card from your deck and one non-land card that is useful in your situation with the learn part. And its an Instant!
Blood Age General image 2.5 This is a Bear with some nice upside for the RW deck, which will have plenty of Spirits.
Vortex Runner image 2.5 This is underwhelming as a three-drop on curve, but in the late game it can become a legitimate win condition, especially in UG decks which are particularly good at getting lots of lands in play.
Frost Trickster image 3.5 This is a very strong Common. It is probably Blue’s best Common, and a contender for best Common in the set. Now, I am somewhat biased here, if you’ve watched my set reviews or drafts before, you know I love tempo creatures like this -- Blue creatures with ETB abilities that either tap something down or bounce something -- but there’s a reason I love them! They’re really good in Limited. They add to your board while effectively taking something away from your opponent. You make their best creature unable to block and attack for an entire cycle, and that has a pretty massive effect on a race. Frost Lynx is already a card that you first pick sometimes, and this adds FLYING to the mix, which is a great addition.
Needlethorn Drake image 2.5 This can attack in the air early, and then stay back to trade with anything late. Like most cheap deathtouch creatures, this is pretty solid.
Study Break image 3.0 This is another card with Learn that is way better than it looks at first. This is a key card for BW or RW aggro decks, as tapping down blockers can really open the floodgates on your opponent – and you even draw a card off of it thanks to Learn! It tends to have a very real impact on games when it is cast.
Letter of Acceptance image 2.0 This gives you reasonable fixing, and once you don’t need that you can cash it in for a card. We see cards like this a lot, and the decks that need fixing will run them, but it is unlikely anyone else will.
First Day of Class image 1.5 If you’re only able to make one creature benefit from this it won’t feel all that good, even if you have a Lesson to grab. After all, most of the Lessons are actually mediocre cards, but they’re worthwhile because you get them for free when you Learn. So, you kind of need your card with Learn to do something worth close to a card, and if you’re just getting one counter and giving one thing Haste, I’m not sure you’re doing it here. “Learn” is sort of like “draw a card,” and does give you some card selection, but those cards to choose from just aren’t gonna be awesome. Keep in mind you can also choose to rummage instead of getting a Lesson, and sometimes that will be best. Now, where this does start to get interesting is when you play multiple creatures in a turn, which won’t be easy if you’re just casting a regular ol’ creature spell, but if you have ways to make multiple tokens in a turn, this will start to feel pretty good. All in all, I’m not super high on this to start, just because I don’t think it will be all that easy to make it work, but I could see myself being wrong here.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Biomathematician
Eliminate image 3.5 This kills a significant percentage of creatures and it does it efficiently. That’s enough for it to be premium.
Strict Proctor image 2.5 So, a two-mana ⅓ Flyer is sort of borderline playable already, and this comes with some extra action. Taxing ETB abilities is pretty strong, as there are lots of creatures in Limited who derive a fair bit of their power from doing something when they ETB. Problem is, it is symmetrical. And sure, you can plan around that by waiting to play it until you’re done taking advantage of ETBs, but you can’t count on the fact that you won’t draw more things with ETB abilities, or that playing it late will even bother your opponent! This isn’t a bad card by any means, but I don’t think it is that great either. Sometimes it will really cause your opponent some problems, but sometimes it will do the same to you! Obviously, should you find yourself in a deck this doesn’t hurt at all, it does get better, but that’s not going to be easy.
Mortality Spear image 4.0 This is excellent. Even if it was always 4 mana to destroy a nonland permanent this would be an easy B – that’s just well worth it. But, this will frequently cost only two mana, which is just absurd. This is one of the best Uncommons in the set.
Hall Monitor image 3.5 Cheap cards that make something unable to block have a pretty good track record in Limited. Making just one thing unable to block is often enough to make your whole board capable of attacking, and, this thing is a Raging Goblin on turn one, which means it will get in for some damage early, and then in the later part of the game really make blocking difficult for your opponent. Seems like a great aggro card.
Umbral Juke image 3.0 This has two reasonable modes. Three mana for a 2/1 Flyer is fine, and three mana for an edict is fine too, especially because this is an instant. Modality is enough to make a card with two “fine” effects become an actually “pretty good” card.
Confront the Past image 0.0 // 1.0 This card is not especially good in Limited, even if you have cards with Learn. There just aren’t enough planeswalkers for this card to matter. I mean, sure, if you see this late and you have some Learn going on, having this ready to get out of your sideboard will definitely be some upside for your Learn cards, but you’re not going to run into planeswalkers or have them very often, and that’s why I think this is a straight F as a main board card, and like a D out of your Lessonboard.
Silverquill Pledgemage image 2.5 This dies to pretty much everything, but it has a nice magecraft effect. Giving this flying will frequently be the option you go with, as this attacks pretty hard in the air. Note, by the way that if you cast two spells, you can choose both options, will be particularly nice sometimes.
Cram Session image 1.5 So yeah, BG has a lot of life gain payoffs as we’ve seen throughout the week and as we will continue to see in this video, so a card like Cram Session is a little bit better than it would normally be, I think. Although, I still don’t think it is great. It is basically a bad Revitalize – and Revitalize isn’t great to begin with!
Biomathematician image 3.5 A three-mana 2/2 that makes a 1/1 is generally pretty good in Limited, and this comes with significant upside between the +1/+1 counter and the additional value you can get from having other fractals. This seems like a card in the lower range of first pickable, and a really strong Common.
Biblioplex Assistant image 2.0 This is an alright way to get back a powerful spell, and the creature you get isn’t the most disastrous thing ever – it may even be able to attack in the sky! But remember, putting a card back on top is wayyy worse than putting it into your hand.
Silverquill Campus image 3.0 These are all good fixing, and then all have a nice late-game mana sink to help improve your draws when you’re flooding out. You can take these over most medium cards, especially if you are interested in splashing or they are on color for you.
Essence Infusion image 2.0 This gives a pretty efficient boost of two +1/+1 Counters, and the lifelink until end of turn is likely to make it so your creature can get in. However, it is a Sorcery, and not a great card for interacting. It does work nicely in BG Lifegain and BW +1/+1 counters though, and that probably increases its playability.
Enthusiastic Study image 2.5 This is great in aggro decks, as it often helps you hit for a ton of trample damage – even saving your creature a decent chunk of the time – and ON TOP OF THAT, you get to learn, which Is just great.
Novice Dissector image 2.5 This starts out as a Hill GIant, which is not so good, but it does have a pretty reasonable ability. Note, by the way, it lets you put the counter wherever. Lots of times when we see this effect only the creature who does the Sacrificing ends up getting the counters, but that’s not true here, and that’s good news for sure, as putting the counters on flyers and stuff sounds pretty good. This is another Black common that supports both Black archetypes well. It does +1/+1 counter stuff for BW, and it likes Pest tokens for BG.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Bookwurm
Agonizing Remorse image 3.0 This was a good discard spell the last time we saw it, and I think it will be pretty good here too. It can disrupt the opponent pretty much all game long, and having a fail case to exile a card in their graveyard isn’t too shabby.
Bookwurm image 4.0 This is one of the best win conditions for both the UG and UR ramp decks. If it comes down, it is hard to beat, since it brings a huge body, gains you some life and gives you an extra card. And it doesn’t end there! Even if your opponent gets rid of it, it will be coming back.
Test of Talents image 2.0 This set has a ton of instants and sorceries, and countering those no questions asked for only two mana actually seems like a decent thing here – after all, it’s a hard counter. The fact you then take out all the other copies of a card you counter is upside, but it isn’t exactly huge. I think this is just a solid playable.
Spirit Summoning image 2.5 RW has some spirit synergies, so this gets a few extra points. It is a nice lesson to have like all the other summonings, because it can pretty much always do something.
Cram Session image 1.5 So yeah, BG has a lot of life gain payoffs as we’ve seen throughout the week and as we will continue to see in this video, so a card like Cram Session is a little bit better than it would normally be, I think. Although, I still don’t think it is great. It is basically a bad Revitalize – and Revitalize isn’t great to begin with!
Hunt for Specimens image 3.0 This ends up feeling like an upgraded Elvish Visionary often enough that this card is very worth playing. A 1/1 pest and a card that is good in your situation is just great for two mana.
Eureka Moment image 2.5 This ramps you a little bit while drawing you cards which is fine. A lot of the time the ability to put lands into play from your hand aren’t that good in Limited because there comes a point where you just don’t have lands to put down, but this draws you card, and makes it more likely you have a land to put into play to take advantage.
Expel image 3.0 White always gets a reasonably efficient removal spell that can hit tapped creatures, and that is what we have here. Unless you leave mana up for it, you have to take a hit first, and leaving mana up for it can be a real pain if your opponent plays around it. It also isn’t great in aggro decks, because it doesn’t remove blockers.
Arcane Subtraction image 3.0 This is another Learn card that is way better than it looks! The effect doesn’t always do something worthwhile – fogging a single creature isn’t always impactful, but when the fail case is fogging a creature and drawing a card – while also triggering some magecraft – you are in a pretty good place with this card, especially because it has the very big upside of sometimes helping you kill a creature in combat.
Blood Age General image 2.5 This is a Bear with some nice upside for the RW deck, which will have plenty of Spirits.
Arrogant Poet image 2.5 We have seen lots of two mana 2/1s that gain flying when they attack be pretty good, and while this is admittedly worse as a result of having to pay life to make that happen, it will still be a nice card to have in Black Aggressive decks. Gaining flying goes a long way towards making this two drop stay relevant. It slots well into the Black-Green deck, which is good at gaining life, and the +1/+1 counter deck, which likes putting counters on evasive creatures.
Bayou Groff image 2.5 I like the upside we have here. It is either a 5-mana 5/4, a sort of passable card already, or a two mana 5/4 that you sacrifice a creature for. Doing the sacrifice thing can be a bit risky if you’re giving up a real card to cast it on turn two, since if your opponent can remove the Snagger or otherwise make it hard for it to attack, the cost will definitely not be worth it. BUT, just having the option available to you is great, and sometimes you’ll have very expendable creatures – like Pest tokens --, and you can double spell with this on like turn 5 if you give one of them up, which works for me.
Charge Through image 1.0 In your typical format, this wouldn’t be close to a 0.0. It replaces itself, but the effect it has can be useless or close to it a huge chunk of the time. After all, you need blocks to go a certain way, and you need creatures of a certain size for Trample to even matter. However, in a format with lots of spells payoffs -- including in Green --, I think this will make the cut sometimes.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Fractal Summoning
Sign in Blood image 3.0 This is a very efficient way to draw two cards, something that normally costs three mana. I'll gladly pay the two life if it means spending one less mana! It also kills your opponent if they are at two, and that comes up on occasion.
Access Tunnel image 2.0 This has some decent, if unexciting late game utility. It isn’t great for your mana, so you probably can’t run it if your mana is already looking a little sketchy.
Closing Statement image 4.0 A 5 mana Instant that kills a thing and puts a counter on one of your creatures is already really good. It improves your board while subtracting from your opponents, and in some situations you may even get a 2-for-1 here, if the +1/+1 counter gets put on a creature you have who can now win combat. Then, you add the fact that if you use this in the end step it only costs THREE, and we’re talking about some serious power. Obviously, that takes away the 2-for-1 potential, but I think that’s a fair exchange. This might be the best Uncommon in the set.
Fractal Summoning image 3.0 Another Lesson that will be nice to get when you “Learn.” It is going to be inefficient, but its a card you get for free when you “Learn”, and its one that adds to the board, so I’m on board with having one of these to wish for.
Study Break image 3.0 This is another card with Learn that is way better than it looks at first. This is a key card for BW or RW aggro decks, as tapping down blockers can really open the floodgates on your opponent – and you even draw a card off of it thanks to Learn! It tends to have a very real impact on games when it is cast.
Leyline Invocation image 2.5 This is often a 6-mana 8/8 or something like that in the late game for UG decks, and that makes it a solid thing to have at the top of your curve.
Essence Infusion image 2.0 This gives a pretty efficient boost of two +1/+1 Counters, and the lifelink until end of turn is likely to make it so your creature can get in. However, it is a Sorcery, and not a great card for interacting. It does work nicely in BG Lifegain and BW +1/+1 counters though, and that probably increases its playability.
Elemental Masterpiece image 2.5 Late, this gives you two 4/4 bodies pretty efficiently. And, like a lot some other UR spells in this set, it can actually make you treasure early too, giving you both fixing and ramp, and making this significantly better than it would be if all you could ever do is cast it.
Spiteful Squad image 2.5 4-mana 2/2s with Deathtouch normally arent the most exicting thing int he world. They can trade fo ranything, but doing that at 4 mana isn’t exactly exciting. I like that they compensated for that here by letting the Band put it +1/+1 counters on other stuff when it dies. This also means that it is a good place to put counters, since it will do something with them when it dies, unlike most creatures.
Thrilling Discovery image 1.5 I really want this to be good, because I am probably the most excited about Lorehold in this set -- but I just don’t think it will be that great. Early, it could be a nice way to both load up your graveyard for various synergies and improve your card quality, but there will be situations where you just can’t really make use of this, either because you don’t want to give up cards or you flat out can’t.
Exhilarating Elocution image 2.5 This gives a nice permanent boost to one creature - +2/+2 and pumping the rest of the board is nice too. It will often enable a pretty nice attack – but it does really need a significant board state to be worthwhile.
Star Pupil image 2.5 This is a nice one drop for the BW deck, the deck most interested in +1/+1 counters. Even if you have no other synergy, this is sort of passable since it can move its one counter elsewhere, but if you put counters on it early, you won’t feel nearly as bad when it dies – provided you have another creature. This seems like a key common for BW.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Mage Duel
Claim the Firstborn image 1.0 So, this does really efficiently steal creatures, even if can only go after the smaller ones. This type of effect can be okay in an aggro deck, but I do think you need some sacrifice outlets to really abuse it, because if you have those, you no tonly get a blocker out of the way for a turn -- you kill it forever! Outside of those situations, you just don’t want to play this.
Mage Hunter image 2.5 This seems solid. There are lots of instants and sorceries in this set, but there probably aren’t enough for this to be incredible or anything. It has alright stats and will punish your opponent some if it sticks around.
Eyetwitch image 3.0 One-mana 1/1 Flyers often aren’t really worth it in Limited because they are so quickly outclassed, but this has quite the useful death trigger. So you will need to have picked up a few Lessons for cards like this to be at their best, but it is nice you can rummage with them in a pinch. This will feel like drawing a card often enough that I think it is pretty good! Also not a bad place to stick a +1/+1 counter.
Inkling Summoning image 3.5 This Lesson is nice because it isn’t a complete disaster if you don’t get any cards with Learn and play it in your main deck. A three mana 2/1 with Flying is just fine, and this also triggers all the mage craft stuff of course. Obviously, if you have Learn, it is going to usually be better in the sideboard.
Mage Duel image 3.5 This is a nice removal spell for Green. Even if it couldn’t reduce its cost, I would think this would be pretty good. +1/+2 is a nice boost that enables creatures to effectively fight a lot more things. Once you factor in the fact it will only cost a single Green mana sometimes, I think we’re looking at premium removal. It does have the downsides Green removal tends to have – like 2-for-1 potential – but it is definitely worth it.
Oggyar Battle-Seer image 2.0 This has mediocre stats, even with Haste, and while tapping to Scry is good, I don’t think it does enough to overcome this card’s inefficiency. You won’t always play this.
Twinscroll Shaman image 2.0 Double strike ½ for three isn’t too bad, and makes this a good place to put counters or otherwise enhance it. That said, that doesn’t seem to be a HUGE focus for Red in this set, strange as that is.
Lash of Malice image 3.0 This seems quite good to me. In a lot of ways, it is like a Shock that traded in the ability to burn the opponent for the ability to be a combat trick sometimes. It can very efficiently kill an X/2, but you can also use it on your own creature to make it hit harder. This set seems like it has a TON of X/2s, so this will definitely feel like premium removal with some nice upside.
Spiteful Squad image 2.5 4-mana 2/2s with Deathtouch normally arent the most exicting thing int he world. They can trade fo ranything, but doing that at 4 mana isn’t exactly exciting. I like that they compensated for that here by letting the Band put it +1/+1 counters on other stuff when it dies. This also means that it is a good place to put counters, since it will do something with them when it dies, unlike most creatures.
Reject image 1.5 This is a narrow mana leak, and in most formats I would think it is pretty reasonable, since creatures are so plentiful. This format is an odd one though, with fewer creatures than normal and way more instants and sorceries, so this ends up being more narrow than it normally would be, and it still has the problem of having diminishing values as the game goes on, because your opponent will just be able to pay the mana eventually.
Pillardrop Rescuer image 3.0 This is a pretty nice Common. By turn 5 you’ll often have something this can bring back without really trying, so just playing this, getting something back, and having a 2/2 flyer is going to feel pretty good. I think basically every White deck in the format will want the first copy of this.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Fractal Summoning
Shadewing Laureate image 3.5 BW has a lot of fliers, including the Inkling creature tokens. This will allow this Laureate to put counters on things reasonably often, and that’s to go along with Wind Drake stats. This is first pickable in some weaker packs.
Daemogoth Woe-Eater image 3.5 Obviously the stats are massive for the cost, but having to sacrifice a creature every turn is a little bit rough. You’ll need some expendable things around to make that worth it. Pest tokens provide that for you. The good news is, even if you end up not having something worth sacriificing and just have to play Daemogoth on an empty board or something, you’ll still get some value back when you sacrifice it to its own ability. Gaining 2 life and forcing your opponent to discard something while you gain life and draw a card isn’t incredible for the mana investment, but Daemogoth probably also deterred an attack for a turn too because of the huge body, and that’s honestly not bad for 4 mana. I think the fail case here is pretty good, and the upside of having such an early 7/6 sounds pretty nice.
Fractal Summoning image 3.0 Another Lesson that will be nice to get when you “Learn.” It is going to be inefficient, but its a card you get for free when you “Learn”, and its one that adds to the board, so I’m on board with having one of these to wish for.
Guiding Voice image 3.0 All the cards with Learn and all the Lessons are big overperformers in this set, and this is an example of that. This effectively reads “Put a +1/+1 counter on a creature and draw a card that is pretty useful in this situation,” and that’s a great deal for one White mana. Especially in a format with a bunch of magecraft.
Prismari Pledgemage image 2.5 We have seen a lot of creatures like this over the last few years -- A two mana 3/3 with Defender that can gain the ability to attack one way or another. The initial body is actually pretty good at helping you block on the ground, and once you can get it to attack it will feel pretty good. Now, you do have to find a way to trigger Magecraft most turns for this to really be at its best, and that won’t always be easy.
Spined Karok image 1.5 This has alright defensive stats for the cost. You’ll play it sometimes if that’s what you need. But mostly you hope you won’t need it.
Bayou Groff image 2.5 I like the upside we have here. It is either a 5-mana 5/4, a sort of passable card already, or a two mana 5/4 that you sacrifice a creature for. Doing the sacrifice thing can be a bit risky if you’re giving up a real card to cast it on turn two, since if your opponent can remove the Snagger or otherwise make it hard for it to attack, the cost will definitely not be worth it. BUT, just having the option available to you is great, and sometimes you’ll have very expendable creatures – like Pest tokens --, and you can double spell with this on like turn 5 if you give one of them up, which works for me.
Illustrious Historian image 3.0 Nothing this card does is efficient, but that’s kind of not the point. It is a card you can play early on curve, and then trade with something, and the in the later game you get a 3/2 out of your graveyard. That could be a 2-for-1, even if it is a kind of expensive one.
Infuse with Vitality image 2.5 This is a nice trick, one that virtually guarantees your creature will both kill whatever it is in combat with AND survive. Well, technically your creature can still die of course, but it will come back right away so, yeah. Incidental life gain tacked on to help out BG with its life gain synergies works for me! Now, as good of a trick as this is, it is still a trick, and still highly situational and risky and all of that.
Elemental Masterpiece image 2.5 Late, this gives you two 4/4 bodies pretty efficiently. And, like a lot some other UR spells in this set, it can actually make you treasure early too, giving you both fixing and ramp, and making this significantly better than it would be if all you could ever do is cast it.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Introduction to Prophecy
Revitalize image 1.5 In most formats, this card is pretty underwhelming. With spellcraft being a thing in this set, it will probably be a little bit better than normal -- and that’s probably true of all cantrips, but it still isn’t something you should go after that hard, and you’ll cut it more than you’ll play it.
Ardent Dustspeaker image 4.0 So, this helps trigger all the cards in RW that like it when things leave your graveyard, AND it will effectively draw you cards at the same time. That’s pretty powerful, so of course they had to make the creature rather inefficient, as a 5-mana ¾. Even with that limitation though, this is going to be quite good. ¾ is enough size to attack on lots of boards, and as long as the best your opponent can do is trade with this, you’re going to be in business, because the cards you get from the effect will help you come out ahead from the trade. In some situations, even if the Dustspeaker is going to die without killing anything, attacking will still be worth it for the effect. You can also get serious value by giving it evasion or stats boosts that make things harder on your opponent. If this gets to use that ability more than once, chances are you just win.
Detention Vortex image 1.5 This isn’t great. It might look like an efficient removal spell, but it basically signs you up to go down a card in the future, because your opponent can just pay some mana to get rid of it. It isn’t completely horrendous in more aggressive BW decks, since no matter what it does make a creature unable to block for a turn – but that’s pretty much the only place you’ll play this, and even then it won’t always make the cut.
Introduction to Prophecy image 2.5 When you play a card with Learn, drawing this card will feel pretty nice, since it is additional value. Then, in the later part of the game, you can cast it and get some nice card selection. Think of it sort of like you would a creature who has an expensive activated ability, but it is an ability that gives you something to do with your mana late.
Blood Age General image 2.5 This is a Bear with some nice upside for the RW deck, which will have plenty of Spirits.
Springmane Cervin image 2.5 This is a solid creature for Green decks. It has alright stats, and the fact it gains life will enable a number of synergies in this format.
Star Pupil image 2.5 This is a nice one drop for the BW deck, the deck most interested in +1/+1 counters. Even if you have no other synergy, this is sort of passable since it can move its one counter elsewhere, but if you put counters on it early, you won’t feel nearly as bad when it dies – provided you have another creature. This seems like a key common for BW.
Curate image 1.0 I’m not super interested in this. It is just another Anticipate variant, and those are always replaceable. It does help you load your graveyard I guess if that’s what you want, and give you some card selection, and it will trigger magecraft, but it just has an underwhelming effect that is not often worth a card.
Unwilling Ingredient image 2.5 This is a solid little common. In the early game, it will chip in for a few damage, and be a good place to put +1/+1 counters. Then, in the later part of the game you can cash it in for a card, which always feels pretty good in Limited when you have the mana lying around.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Overgrown Arch
Divine Gambit image 2.0 This ended up being better than I expected in Kaldheim – that’s not to say its good, but it is a solid playable. You basically treat it as a late game removal spell, and if you look at it that way, it tends to do the job with very little downside. This format also has fewer permanents than normal, and that could matter.
Overgrown Arch image 3.0 We’ve seen walls that can cash themselves in for cards before, and they’re always kind of mediocre. However, thsi one does add life gain to the mix, which is something that can really add up -- especially because the BG deck in this format really likes repeatable sources of life gain to power all of its cards.
Professor's Warning image 1.5 If this card only did one of these two things, it would be terrible. One mana just isn’t a good rate for either of those things, even if they can help you out sometimes, what it does often won’t be worth a card. Making this modal make it better of course, and so does the fact that this set loves cheap spells as a result of Magecraft and other spell payoffs.
Arcane Subtraction image 3.0 This is another Learn card that is way better than it looks! The effect doesn’t always do something worthwhile – fogging a single creature isn’t always impactful, but when the fail case is fogging a creature and drawing a card – while also triggering some magecraft – you are in a pretty good place with this card, especially because it has the very big upside of sometimes helping you kill a creature in combat.
Excavated Wall image 0.5 One-mana 0/4 defenders tend to not really be worth it in Limited. And this one does help you load your graveyard, which RW decks will like especially, but I still don’t really think that’s going to be enough to get me to run this most of the time.
Novice Dissector image 2.5 This starts out as a Hill GIant, which is not so good, but it does have a pretty reasonable ability. Note, by the way, it lets you put the counter wherever. Lots of times when we see this effect only the creature who does the Sacrificing ends up getting the counters, but that’s not true here, and that’s good news for sure, as putting the counters on flyers and stuff sounds pretty good. This is another Black common that supports both Black archetypes well. It does +1/+1 counter stuff for BW, and it likes Pest tokens for BG.
Campus Guide image 2.0 This has passable stats and it can fix for you, though keep in mind just putting a land on top is substantially worse than putting one in your hand. Still, if you’re trying to do some splashing this will help you do it. If you’re not splashing at all, though, it probably isn’t worth playing.
Tangletrap image 1.5 // 3.0 Kind of funny this isn’t a lesson, I almost felt like it would be! Anyway, we see these modal “Destory artifact or flyer” type cards a lot, and they’re always alright. This one probably isn’t one you want to put in your main deck because this format doesn’t have that many artifacts. However, if you see 5 or so targets against someone – both flyers and artifacts – it can be a pretty nice sideboard card.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Pop Quiz
Mascot Interception image 1.5 So, there are a reasonable number of tokens in this format -- that’s a product of a set with an instant and sorcery theme, so being able to use this to steal one for only a single mana is some actual real upside. Note, by the way, if you need to do 2 more damage with your own creature, you can use this on your own guy too, and if its YOUR token, it also only costs one Red. Still, these Threaten effects tend to be highly situational. That said, by being so cheap a reasonable chunk of the time, it does overcome some of that downside. I have a hard time believing in Threatens until I see them work out in a format.
Promising Duskmage image 2.5 This is a solid little +1/+1 counter payoff. Sometimes when you put a counter on something it is a bummer that it gets killed, but this makes sure to give you some value no matter what!
Pop Quiz image 3.0 This often just feels like a better Divination, since it draws you one card from your deck and one non-land card that is useful in your situation with the learn part. And its an Instant!
Blood Age General image 2.5 This is a Bear with some nice upside for the RW deck, which will have plenty of Spirits.
Needlethorn Drake image 2.5 This can attack in the air early, and then stay back to trade with anything late. Like most cheap deathtouch creatures, this is pretty solid.
Letter of Acceptance image 2.0 This gives you reasonable fixing, and once you don’t need that you can cash it in for a card. We see cards like this a lot, and the decks that need fixing will run them, but it is unlikely anyone else will.
First Day of Class image 1.5 If you’re only able to make one creature benefit from this it won’t feel all that good, even if you have a Lesson to grab. After all, most of the Lessons are actually mediocre cards, but they’re worthwhile because you get them for free when you Learn. So, you kind of need your card with Learn to do something worth close to a card, and if you’re just getting one counter and giving one thing Haste, I’m not sure you’re doing it here. “Learn” is sort of like “draw a card,” and does give you some card selection, but those cards to choose from just aren’t gonna be awesome. Keep in mind you can also choose to rummage instead of getting a Lesson, and sometimes that will be best. Now, where this does start to get interesting is when you play multiple creatures in a turn, which won’t be easy if you’re just casting a regular ol’ creature spell, but if you have ways to make multiple tokens in a turn, this will start to feel pretty good. All in all, I’m not super high on this to start, just because I don’t think it will be all that easy to make it work, but I could see myself being wrong here.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Cram Session
Confront the Past image 0.0 // 1.0 This card is not especially good in Limited, even if you have cards with Learn. There just aren’t enough planeswalkers for this card to matter. I mean, sure, if you see this late and you have some Learn going on, having this ready to get out of your sideboard will definitely be some upside for your Learn cards, but you’re not going to run into planeswalkers or have them very often, and that’s why I think this is a straight F as a main board card, and like a D out of your Lessonboard.
Silverquill Pledgemage image 2.5 This dies to pretty much everything, but it has a nice magecraft effect. Giving this flying will frequently be the option you go with, as this attacks pretty hard in the air. Note, by the way that if you cast two spells, you can choose both options, will be particularly nice sometimes.
Cram Session image 1.5 So yeah, BG has a lot of life gain payoffs as we’ve seen throughout the week and as we will continue to see in this video, so a card like Cram Session is a little bit better than it would normally be, I think. Although, I still don’t think it is great. It is basically a bad Revitalize – and Revitalize isn’t great to begin with!
Silverquill Campus image 3.0 These are all good fixing, and then all have a nice late-game mana sink to help improve your draws when you’re flooding out. You can take these over most medium cards, especially if you are interested in splashing or they are on color for you.
Essence Infusion image 2.0 This gives a pretty efficient boost of two +1/+1 Counters, and the lifelink until end of turn is likely to make it so your creature can get in. However, it is a Sorcery, and not a great card for interacting. It does work nicely in BG Lifegain and BW +1/+1 counters though, and that probably increases its playability.
Novice Dissector image 2.5 This starts out as a Hill GIant, which is not so good, but it does have a pretty reasonable ability. Note, by the way, it lets you put the counter wherever. Lots of times when we see this effect only the creature who does the Sacrificing ends up getting the counters, but that’s not true here, and that’s good news for sure, as putting the counters on flyers and stuff sounds pretty good. This is another Black common that supports both Black archetypes well. It does +1/+1 counter stuff for BW, and it likes Pest tokens for BG.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Eureka Moment
Cram Session image 1.5 So yeah, BG has a lot of life gain payoffs as we’ve seen throughout the week and as we will continue to see in this video, so a card like Cram Session is a little bit better than it would normally be, I think. Although, I still don’t think it is great. It is basically a bad Revitalize – and Revitalize isn’t great to begin with!
Eureka Moment image 2.5 This ramps you a little bit while drawing you cards which is fine. A lot of the time the ability to put lands into play from your hand aren’t that good in Limited because there comes a point where you just don’t have lands to put down, but this draws you card, and makes it more likely you have a land to put into play to take advantage.
Blood Age General image 2.5 This is a Bear with some nice upside for the RW deck, which will have plenty of Spirits.
Bayou Groff image 2.5 I like the upside we have here. It is either a 5-mana 5/4, a sort of passable card already, or a two mana 5/4 that you sacrifice a creature for. Doing the sacrifice thing can be a bit risky if you’re giving up a real card to cast it on turn two, since if your opponent can remove the Snagger or otherwise make it hard for it to attack, the cost will definitely not be worth it. BUT, just having the option available to you is great, and sometimes you’ll have very expendable creatures – like Pest tokens --, and you can double spell with this on like turn 5 if you give one of them up, which works for me.
Charge Through image 1.0 In your typical format, this wouldn’t be close to a 0.0. It replaces itself, but the effect it has can be useless or close to it a huge chunk of the time. After all, you need blocks to go a certain way, and you need creatures of a certain size for Trample to even matter. However, in a format with lots of spells payoffs -- including in Green --, I think this will make the cut sometimes.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Essence Infusion
Study Break image 3.0 This is another card with Learn that is way better than it looks at first. This is a key card for BW or RW aggro decks, as tapping down blockers can really open the floodgates on your opponent – and you even draw a card off of it thanks to Learn! It tends to have a very real impact on games when it is cast.
Essence Infusion image 2.0 This gives a pretty efficient boost of two +1/+1 Counters, and the lifelink until end of turn is likely to make it so your creature can get in. However, it is a Sorcery, and not a great card for interacting. It does work nicely in BG Lifegain and BW +1/+1 counters though, and that probably increases its playability.
Thrilling Discovery image 1.5 I really want this to be good, because I am probably the most excited about Lorehold in this set -- but I just don’t think it will be that great. Early, it could be a nice way to both load up your graveyard for various synergies and improve your card quality, but there will be situations where you just can’t really make use of this, either because you don’t want to give up cards or you flat out can’t.
Exhilarating Elocution image 2.5 This gives a nice permanent boost to one creature - +2/+2 and pumping the rest of the board is nice too. It will often enable a pretty nice attack – but it does really need a significant board state to be worthwhile.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Inkling Summoning
Inkling Summoning image 3.5 This Lesson is nice because it isn’t a complete disaster if you don’t get any cards with Learn and play it in your main deck. A three mana 2/1 with Flying is just fine, and this also triggers all the mage craft stuff of course. Obviously, if you have Learn, it is going to usually be better in the sideboard.
Twinscroll Shaman image 2.0 Double strike ½ for three isn’t too bad, and makes this a good place to put counters or otherwise enhance it. That said, that doesn’t seem to be a HUGE focus for Red in this set, strange as that is.
Pillardrop Rescuer image 3.0 This is a pretty nice Common. By turn 5 you’ll often have something this can bring back without really trying, so just playing this, getting something back, and having a 2/2 flyer is going to feel pretty good. I think basically every White deck in the format will want the first copy of this.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Bayou Groff
Spined Karok image 1.5 This has alright defensive stats for the cost. You’ll play it sometimes if that’s what you need. But mostly you hope you won’t need it.
Bayou Groff image 2.5 I like the upside we have here. It is either a 5-mana 5/4, a sort of passable card already, or a two mana 5/4 that you sacrifice a creature for. Doing the sacrifice thing can be a bit risky if you’re giving up a real card to cast it on turn two, since if your opponent can remove the Snagger or otherwise make it hard for it to attack, the cost will definitely not be worth it. BUT, just having the option available to you is great, and sometimes you’ll have very expendable creatures – like Pest tokens --, and you can double spell with this on like turn 5 if you give one of them up, which works for me.
Pack 2 Pick 15: Detention Vortex
Detention Vortex image 1.5 This isn’t great. It might look like an efficient removal spell, but it basically signs you up to go down a card in the future, because your opponent can just pay some mana to get rid of it. It isn’t completely horrendous in more aggressive BW decks, since no matter what it does make a creature unable to block for a turn – but that’s pretty much the only place you’ll play this, and even then it won’t always make the cut.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Environmental Sciences
Lightning Bolt image 4.0 This is arguably Magic’s best burn spell ever, so obviously it is really good in Limited. It kills lots of stuff efficiently, and can even go for the dome.
Ingenious Mastery image 3.0 This probably has one of the less painful alternate costs of the cards in this cycle. In this case, you don’t exactly give your opponent full cards of value, because they just get treasure and a Scry, and while that isn’t something you’re happy to hand to your opponent, you will be coming out significantly ahead here if you pay 3 for this. Now, in the early game, giving them that mana boost might be rough, but your opponent will be getting less and less out of the treasure as the game goes on. Then, it has al alternate mode where your opponent gets nothing, but it is a way less efficient draw spell. You have to pay 6 to draw three, which isn’t awesome, but Blue is a ramp color in this format, so being able to do it won’t feel too bad. Mostly though, both of these modes are for the late game, and kind of a liability in the early game.
Zephyr Boots image 3.5 This seems like a reasonable Equipment to me. Flying tends to be a pretty nice boost on just about any creature, and it gives that ability fairly efficient. And, the loot combat damage trigger is a great way to improve your draws.
Master Symmetrist image 4.0 This is basically a 4-mana 4/4 with Reach and Trample, since its ability counts itself, and Trample only matters when you attack anyway. That on its own would be good enough, but then granting all of your other creatures with symmetrical power and toughness trample is some nice additional upside.
Mercurial Transformation image 2.5 Neither mode on this is super awesome, but making an opposing creature into a 1/1, or one of yours into a 4/4 will sometimes be a reasonable thing to do, especially because you get this kind of for free in your hand off of a “Learn” effect. Keep in mind that you can use this after combat to turn an opposing creature into a 1/1, and if that creature took at least one damage, it will just die on the spot! It is situational to be sure, but because it is a lesson, you can get it when the situation calls for it.
Environmental Sciences image 3.5 All the lessons are much better than they look, and that is certainly the case for Environmental Sciences. If you can pick up one of these, it effectively makes every single card you have with “Learn” into fixing. This means you can have pretty excellent mana for a splash simply by playing one basic land of another color. The life gain doesn’t hurt either.
Crushing Disappointment image 1.5 This isn’t amazing. 4-mana to draw 2 at instant speed is alright, and it is nice the life loss is symmetrical, but I tend to have a hard time getting behind this kind of card draw in Limited. It is pretty inefficient and expensive, and by choosing to spend 4 of you r mana to cast this you probably already paid some life in a way -- since you didn’t add to your board with that mana. Then, paying more life can be surprisingly painful. Again, it is nice that it can give you some reach against some opponents, and in BG especially you’ll be able to gain enough life that you don’t need to worry about it, but I still think this is a card that gets cut a reasonable chunk of the time.
Enthusiastic Study image 2.5 This is great in aggro decks, as it often helps you hit for a ton of trample damage – even saving your creature a decent chunk of the time – and ON TOP OF THAT, you get to learn, which Is just great.
Rise of Extus image 3.5 This is expensive and clunky, but it also isn’t too far from being a removal spell that has “draw a card,” added to it. Now granted, most of the cards you can get with the Learn part aren’t exactly going to be worldbeaters, but they are still cards, and adding that effect to a removal spell seems pretty nice. Exiling an instant or sorcery doesn’t hurt either. This often really drastically changes the game between removing your opponents best thing and drawing you a card.
Spiteful Squad image 2.5 4-mana 2/2s with Deathtouch normally arent the most exicting thing int he world. They can trade fo ranything, but doing that at 4 mana isn’t exactly exciting. I like that they compensated for that here by letting the Band put it +1/+1 counters on other stuff when it dies. This also means that it is a good place to put counters, since it will do something with them when it dies, unlike most creatures.
Field Trip image 2.5 So, this pretty much just ramps for you, it doesn’t provide fixing because you can only get a Forest, and that’s a pretty big bummer. Still, ramping looks like a smarter strategy in ths format It does have Learn, which will either let you rummage or get a Lesson from your sideboard, and both of those are nice additional effects.
Relic Sloth image 2.5 This isn’t THAT far from being Serra Angel, right? I mean Menace is basically flying. Okay, I’m exaggerating a little bit here, but kind of to make a point. This is a pretty good vanilla creature, and while it costs 5, I imagine it makes the cut a lot of the time.
Study Break image 3.0 This is another card with Learn that is way better than it looks at first. This is a key card for BW or RW aggro decks, as tapping down blockers can really open the floodgates on your opponent – and you even draw a card off of it thanks to Learn! It tends to have a very real impact on games when it is cast.
Defend the Campus image 2.0 I see this as two separate cards in many formats, and both of them are often cards you cut, just because they are a little too narrow. HOWEVER, by putting both of these effects on a single card, you end up with a better card. The effects are still narrow of course, but between the two effects one of them is going to be useful pretty often. This might all sounds like I think this is incredible -- but I just get excited about modal cards. It is a solid card that will actually make the cut a reasonable chunk of the time.
Soothsayer Adept image 1.5 This card has okay stats and it can loot, and that’s enough for it to be a reasonable inclusion in most decks. Looting isn’t a bad mana sink to have late, as it can really improve your draws.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Kelpie Guide
Adventurous Impulse image 2.5 This is a fine card for Green decks. Its nice that if you’re flooding it can help you get out, and if you’re desperate for a mana drop it can help you there too. It is also a cheap spell which is always upside in this set.
Killian, Ink Duelist image 4.0 I would have been reasonably happy with a two mana 2/2 with Lifelink and Menace, or a 2-mana 2/2 with the spell reduction ability, but obviously this has all of that stuff! It is going to give you a lot for two mana. It will attack well early, and then make your spells cheaper – this will allow you to trigger Magecraft more easily, while also pumping your creatures with combat triggers. Your removal spells will cheaper as well as your tricks, anyway. This is an excellent Uncommon.
Snow Day image 2.0 Blue always get some expensive instant or sorcery tempo card that does something to two of your opponents’ creatures, and this is Strixhaven’s version of that! I think it looks fairly reasonable. Tapping down two creatures is often better than bouncing them, since they will be out of your way for two separate attacks instead of just one, and this also replaces itself with the “Draw two, discard one” effect. Still, these effects aren’t always something all decks are after, as they are expensive and situational.
Kelpie Guide image 3.0 So the main thing this does, is help you ramp, which is a pretty nice effect, even on a 3-mana 2/2. Then, in the late game, it will gain a very powerful ability, becoming an Icy Manipulator of sorts, which means it is going to be able to basically stop whatever your opponents most powerful permanent is in most cases, since it can tap them down. One of the downsides of creatures that help you ramp mana is how bad they are in the extreme late game, when they tend to be undersized and their mana is unnecessary, but the Kelpie gets around that with that ability. I think overall, this is a pretty strong card -- it helps you ramp early, and then becomes one of the best cards on the table late.
Expanded Anatomy image 3.0 This looks like it wouldn’t be especially good, but because you can choose to get it at exactly the right time (assuming you Learn), it often has a major impact on the game, allowing an attack that you just didn’t have before.
Blood Age General image 2.5 This is a Bear with some nice upside for the RW deck, which will have plenty of Spirits.
Blood Researcher image 3.5 This seems like a nice Common payoff for gaining life. It may not be quite as cheap as Ajani’s Pridemate, but it adds Menace to the mix and I think that’s a fair trade. This will get pretty big, and that’s always nice with an evasive ability.
Spined Karok image 1.5 This has alright defensive stats for the cost. You’ll play it sometimes if that’s what you need. But mostly you hope you won’t need it.
Pop Quiz image 3.0 This often just feels like a better Divination, since it draws you one card from your deck and one non-land card that is useful in your situation with the learn part. And its an Instant!
Dragon's Approach image 0.0 This is a neat design, but not really one that will work out in Limited. Even if you get like, six of these in your draft, the chances you have the necessary ones in your graveyard at some point aren’t great -- and that’s without even mentioning that you ALSO need a dragon for that effect do anything. Basically, this is just a Lava Axe-type effect, and those normally don’t play great in Limited, since they cost you a card and don’t affect the board.
Rise of Extus image 3.5 This is expensive and clunky, but it also isn’t too far from being a removal spell that has “draw a card,” added to it. Now granted, most of the cards you can get with the Learn part aren’t exactly going to be worldbeaters, but they are still cards, and adding that effect to a removal spell seems pretty nice. Exiling an instant or sorcery doesn’t hurt either. This often really drastically changes the game between removing your opponents best thing and drawing you a card.
Owlin Shieldmage image 3.0 This is pretty good top-curve for BW aggro decks. It isn’t the most efficient flyer, but it often puts your opponent in a terrible place, where their live is low enough that they have to kill your flyer, but they have to pay 3 life to do it.
Professor's Warning image 1.5 If this card only did one of these two things, it would be terrible. One mana just isn’t a good rate for either of those things, even if they can help you out sometimes, what it does often won’t be worth a card. Making this modal make it better of course, and so does the fact that this set loves cheap spells as a result of Magecraft and other spell payoffs.
Campus Guide image 2.0 This has passable stats and it can fix for you, though keep in mind just putting a land on top is substantially worse than putting one in your hand. Still, if you’re trying to do some splashing this will help you do it. If you’re not splashing at all, though, it probably isn’t worth playing.
Pack 3 Pick 3: Biomathematician
Snakeskin Veil image 2.5 This is a good combat trick that gives your creature a permanent boost, while also being useful against removal.
Eyetwitch image 3.0 One-mana 1/1 Flyers often aren’t really worth it in Limited because they are so quickly outclassed, but this has quite the useful death trigger. So you will need to have picked up a few Lessons for cards like this to be at their best, but it is nice you can rummage with them in a pinch. This will feel like drawing a card often enough that I think it is pretty good! Also not a bad place to stick a +1/+1 counter.
Deadly Brew image 3.0 You basically take down an opposing creature, and then trade a creature in play for a permanent in your graveyard. It won’t always be easy to set it up -- edict effects are notoriously inconsistent, but most of the time you’ll probably come out ahead when you cast this. Especially if you have creature tokens and stuff like that!
Introduction to Annihilation image 3.0 Giving yourself access to a removal spell any time you Learn is pretty nice. Obviously, the fact your opponent draws a card is rough, but you generally just end up breaking even, since you’ll get Introduction to Annihilation for free when you learn.
Campus Guide image 2.0 This has passable stats and it can fix for you, though keep in mind just putting a land on top is substantially worse than putting one in your hand. Still, if you’re trying to do some splashing this will help you do it. If you’re not splashing at all, though, it probably isn’t worth playing.
Square Up image 1.0 This kind of card never really comes through. You can sort of treat it like a trick, but it is just too situational to even be reliable in that capacity. The idea here I guess is to use it on Fractals, but even that isn’t worth it to me.
Lash of Malice image 3.0 This seems quite good to me. In a lot of ways, it is like a Shock that traded in the ability to burn the opponent for the ability to be a combat trick sometimes. It can very efficiently kill an X/2, but you can also use it on your own creature to make it hit harder. This set seems like it has a TON of X/2s, so this will definitely feel like premium removal with some nice upside.
Biomathematician image 3.5 A three-mana 2/2 that makes a 1/1 is generally pretty good in Limited, and this comes with significant upside between the +1/+1 counter and the additional value you can get from having other fractals. This seems like a card in the lower range of first pickable, and a really strong Common.
Bayou Groff image 2.5 I like the upside we have here. It is either a 5-mana 5/4, a sort of passable card already, or a two mana 5/4 that you sacrifice a creature for. Doing the sacrifice thing can be a bit risky if you’re giving up a real card to cast it on turn two, since if your opponent can remove the Snagger or otherwise make it hard for it to attack, the cost will definitely not be worth it. BUT, just having the option available to you is great, and sometimes you’ll have very expendable creatures – like Pest tokens --, and you can double spell with this on like turn 5 if you give one of them up, which works for me.
Arcane Subtraction image 3.0 This is another Learn card that is way better than it looks! The effect doesn’t always do something worthwhile – fogging a single creature isn’t always impactful, but when the fail case is fogging a creature and drawing a card – while also triggering some magecraft – you are in a pretty good place with this card, especially because it has the very big upside of sometimes helping you kill a creature in combat.
First Day of Class image 1.5 If you’re only able to make one creature benefit from this it won’t feel all that good, even if you have a Lesson to grab. After all, most of the Lessons are actually mediocre cards, but they’re worthwhile because you get them for free when you Learn. So, you kind of need your card with Learn to do something worth close to a card, and if you’re just getting one counter and giving one thing Haste, I’m not sure you’re doing it here. “Learn” is sort of like “draw a card,” and does give you some card selection, but those cards to choose from just aren’t gonna be awesome. Keep in mind you can also choose to rummage instead of getting a Lesson, and sometimes that will be best. Now, where this does start to get interesting is when you play multiple creatures in a turn, which won’t be easy if you’re just casting a regular ol’ creature spell, but if you have ways to make multiple tokens in a turn, this will start to feel pretty good. All in all, I’m not super high on this to start, just because I don’t think it will be all that easy to make it work, but I could see myself being wrong here.
Eager First-Year image 2.5 This seems like your typical solid White two-drop. It starts out with a fine base line and has some decent upside. Could be particularly nice with combat tricks, since it will get the extra bonus. It is a solid card, but not much else.
Lorehold Campus image 3.0 These are all good fixing, and then all have a nice late-game mana sink to help improve your draws when you’re flooding out. You can take these over most medium cards, especially if you are interested in splashing or they are on color for you.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Quandrix Pledgemage
Torrent Sculptor image 3.0 Neither side of this is really overwhelmingly powerful, but they both have their uses. Sometimes you’ll be able to make the Sculptor into a pretty scary creature, especially because Ward will make it harder to kill -- but I think counting on more than a couple of +1/+1 counters will be a mistake most of the time. Meanwhile, the Sonata side rummages and can turn most cards you discard into a removal spell, and that’s something I can get behind -- though of course, sometimes you won’t be able to do anything meaningful with it, and that will be rough.
Grinning Ignus image 2.0 Basically, the Ignus gives you something of a ritual effect. It gives you a short-term mana boost, but when you actually look at the mana you spend -- which is 3 to play it and one to use its ability, you actually come out behind! Still, the UR deck in this format looks interested in getting a bunch of mana in single turns for big crazy spells, so it probably has a home.
Go Blank image 1.5 They keep giving us upgraded Mind Rots lately, and I like it. Normally Mind Rot effects aren’t so good in Limited. They don’t impact the board and they get bad in the late game, but by giving these cards something else to do -- in this case, exiling the graveyard, you at least get something out of this card even when it can’t make your opponent discard anything. In most formats, exiling the graveyard will have at least a small effect on most decks. Now, all that said, this isn’t great, but it is a 1.5 instead the 1.0 that Mind Rot usually is.
Introduction to Prophecy image 2.5 When you play a card with Learn, drawing this card will feel pretty nice, since it is additional value. Then, in the later part of the game, you can cast it and get some nice card selection. Think of it sort of like you would a creature who has an expensive activated ability, but it is an ability that gives you something to do with your mana late.
Thrilling Discovery image 1.5 I really want this to be good, because I am probably the most excited about Lorehold in this set -- but I just don’t think it will be that great. Early, it could be a nice way to both load up your graveyard for various synergies and improve your card quality, but there will be situations where you just can’t really make use of this, either because you don’t want to give up cards or you flat out can’t.
Square Up image 1.0 This kind of card never really comes through. You can sort of treat it like a trick, but it is just too situational to even be reliable in that capacity. The idea here I guess is to use it on Fractals, but even that isn’t worth it to me.
Quandrix Pledgemage image 3.0 We see this type of card a lot, though lately it has mostly been Red. Either way, this kind of creature tends to grow rapidly in a deck with a decent number of spells. It is certainly vulnerable at first, but if your opponent doesn’t take it down when they can, it can get quite impressive.
Unwilling Ingredient image 2.5 This is a solid little common. In the early game, it will chip in for a few damage, and be a good place to put +1/+1 counters. Then, in the later part of the game you can cash it in for a card, which always feels pretty good in Limited when you have the mana lying around.
Resculpt image 1.0 People always overrate this type of card. They think of scenarios where you will exile one of your own artifacts or creatures and get a 4/4 out of the deal at Instant speed, and then you block an attacker or something. Or you use it in response to a removal spell and still get a 4/4 and all of that. But every time we see a card like this, even the one that made a 4/4 Angel, they just never line up as well as you might think at first. That situation I described just won’t happen as much as you want it to, and you’ll often find yourself in situations where this just isn’t worth casting. Now, it does have the ability to also go after opposing permanents, but giving your opponent a 4/4 in that case isn’t especially good most of the time either.
Pillardrop Warden image 2.5 This has reasonable defensive stats and the ability to bring an instant or sorcery back to your hand, giving it utility pretty much all game long.
Twinscroll Shaman image 2.0 Double strike ½ for three isn’t too bad, and makes this a good place to put counters or otherwise enhance it. That said, that doesn’t seem to be a HUGE focus for Red in this set, strange as that is.
Blood Researcher image 3.5 This seems like a nice Common payoff for gaining life. It may not be quite as cheap as Ajani’s Pridemate, but it adds Menace to the mix and I think that’s a fair trade. This will get pretty big, and that’s always nice with an evasive ability.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Emergent Sequence
Prismari Apprentice image 3.5 Becoming unblockable any time a spell is cast isn’t too shabby, and would make for a solid card already -- but the fact it gains +1/+1 counters when you cast big spells really makes this into a nice signpost uncommon for UR.
Emergent Sequence image 3.5 This a lot like Rampant Growth, which is pretty solid as far as fixing and ramping go! What’s great is, it actually adds to the board in a meaningful way in addition to ramping and fixing for you, since the land will also be a 1/1 at a minimum and making it a 2/2 won’t be particularly difficult. It will feel a lot like a mana dork that comes into play tapped, and that’s pretty good! Now, that comes with some downsides, like if you search up your one land for a splash and now your opponent can kill it with a cheap burn spell, but I think its well worth it. This format has lots of payoffs for ramping too.
Mage Hunter image 2.5 This seems solid. There are lots of instants and sorceries in this set, but there probably aren’t enough for this to be incredible or anything. It has alright stats and will punish your opponent some if it sticks around.
Owlin Shieldmage image 3.0 This is pretty good top-curve for BW aggro decks. It isn’t the most efficient flyer, but it often puts your opponent in a terrible place, where their live is low enough that they have to kill your flyer, but they have to pay 3 life to do it.
Spectacle Mage image 3.0 This is a Wind Drake with some nice upside for UR, which is a color pair that likes big spells. This seems like a key common for that deck.
Eureka Moment image 2.5 This ramps you a little bit while drawing you cards which is fine. A lot of the time the ability to put lands into play from your hand aren’t that good in Limited because there comes a point where you just don’t have lands to put down, but this draws you card, and makes it more likely you have a land to put into play to take advantage.
Illustrious Historian image 3.0 Nothing this card does is efficient, but that’s kind of not the point. It is a card you can play early on curve, and then trade with something, and the in the later game you get a 3/2 out of your graveyard. That could be a 2-for-1, even if it is a kind of expensive one.
Spiteful Squad image 2.5 4-mana 2/2s with Deathtouch normally arent the most exicting thing int he world. They can trade fo ranything, but doing that at 4 mana isn’t exactly exciting. I like that they compensated for that here by letting the Band put it +1/+1 counters on other stuff when it dies. This also means that it is a good place to put counters, since it will do something with them when it dies, unlike most creatures.
Thrilling Discovery image 1.5 I really want this to be good, because I am probably the most excited about Lorehold in this set -- but I just don’t think it will be that great. Early, it could be a nice way to both load up your graveyard for various synergies and improve your card quality, but there will be situations where you just can’t really make use of this, either because you don’t want to give up cards or you flat out can’t.
Sudden Breakthrough image 1.5 This is a decent trick -- it gives a boost large enough for your creature to win combat most of the time -- and it gives you a Treasure for some fixing and ramping. But you’ll probably cut it a lot, after all, it is still a trick -- and that means it is risky and highly situational.
Teach by Example image 1.5 I know this format is all about spells and stuff, but I have a hard time thinking a card like this will be worthwhile very often. You have to have it line up the right way for it to do something. And sure, using it on a draw spell or something will feel pretty sweet, as will copying some of the huge wacky spells in UR, but it still seems like the set up is too much. This kind of spell isn’t good in most Limited formats, and I don’ think it will be here either.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Quandrix Cultivator
Mage Hunter image 2.5 This seems solid. There are lots of instants and sorceries in this set, but there probably aren’t enough for this to be incredible or anything. It has alright stats and will punish your opponent some if it sticks around.
Quandrix Cultivator image 3.5 This is some pretty nice ramp, and it comes on a fairly reasonable body. Casting this is going to feel pretty good on turn 4, and unlike some other ramp creatures, it brings decent stats when you play it in the late game.
Clever Lumimancer image 2.5 So for the Luminancer, its Magecraft effect is basically Super Prowess. It reminds me quite a bit of Steppe Lynx, in that they are both one mana 0/1s that want you to jump through some hoops to make them really efficient creatures. Thing is, Steppe Lynx isn’t great in a format like Limited, where games tend to go long , and making the creature big enough consistently just isn’t that easy. I think this will have a similar problem. It might be great in the early going, but keeping it relevant just won’t be that easy, and it will quickly fade as the game goes on. Now, if you are an aggro deck with a bunch of tricks, the Luminancer is going to be probably be at its best.
First Day of Class image 1.5 If you’re only able to make one creature benefit from this it won’t feel all that good, even if you have a Lesson to grab. After all, most of the Lessons are actually mediocre cards, but they’re worthwhile because you get them for free when you Learn. So, you kind of need your card with Learn to do something worth close to a card, and if you’re just getting one counter and giving one thing Haste, I’m not sure you’re doing it here. “Learn” is sort of like “draw a card,” and does give you some card selection, but those cards to choose from just aren’t gonna be awesome. Keep in mind you can also choose to rummage instead of getting a Lesson, and sometimes that will be best. Now, where this does start to get interesting is when you play multiple creatures in a turn, which won’t be easy if you’re just casting a regular ol’ creature spell, but if you have ways to make multiple tokens in a turn, this will start to feel pretty good. All in all, I’m not super high on this to start, just because I don’t think it will be all that easy to make it work, but I could see myself being wrong here.
Professor's Warning image 1.5 If this card only did one of these two things, it would be terrible. One mana just isn’t a good rate for either of those things, even if they can help you out sometimes, what it does often won’t be worth a card. Making this modal make it better of course, and so does the fact that this set loves cheap spells as a result of Magecraft and other spell payoffs.
Curate image 1.0 I’m not super interested in this. It is just another Anticipate variant, and those are always replaceable. It does help you load your graveyard I guess if that’s what you want, and give you some card selection, and it will trigger magecraft, but it just has an underwhelming effect that is not often worth a card.
Ageless Guardian image 1.5 This has reasonable defensive stats and it is a Spirit, and RW has some tribal synergy for that. You’ll play it in a deck that wants that sometimes, but I imagine you’ll cut it pretty often.
Quandrix Pledgemage image 3.0 We see this type of card a lot, though lately it has mostly been Red. Either way, this kind of creature tends to grow rapidly in a deck with a decent number of spells. It is certainly vulnerable at first, but if your opponent doesn’t take it down when they can, it can get quite impressive.
Resculpt image 1.0 People always overrate this type of card. They think of scenarios where you will exile one of your own artifacts or creatures and get a 4/4 out of the deal at Instant speed, and then you block an attacker or something. Or you use it in response to a removal spell and still get a 4/4 and all of that. But every time we see a card like this, even the one that made a 4/4 Angel, they just never line up as well as you might think at first. That situation I described just won’t happen as much as you want it to, and you’ll often find yourself in situations where this just isn’t worth casting. Now, it does have the ability to also go after opposing permanents, but giving your opponent a 4/4 in that case isn’t especially good most of the time either.
Soothsayer Adept image 1.5 This card has okay stats and it can loot, and that’s enough for it to be a reasonable inclusion in most decks. Looting isn’t a bad mana sink to have late, as it can really improve your draws.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Quandrix Apprentice
Quandrix Apprentice image 3.5 This kind of effect is always nice, especially in the early game when you really need to hit your land drops. Either way, this will draw you a card most of the time when you play a spell, and even if it is always a land, that is a pretty big bonus to add to all of your spells. As we’ve seen UG also likes having lots of lands, so this is a big enabler for those decks.
Explosive Welcome image 2.0 Eight mana is a whole lot, but the UR deck looks capable of producing that kind of mana. This will often get you a 2-for-1 which is nice, but the thing I wonder is how often the mana it gives you back will even be usable. If you just spent a bunch of mana to cast this, it was probably the last card you had in your hand, so where’s that mana going? Probably nowhere most of the time. This has some serious explosive potential in the later part of the game, but in really only fits in the UR deck, and even then it won’t always work out.
Vortex Runner image 2.5 This is underwhelming as a three-drop on curve, but in the late game it can become a legitimate win condition, especially in UG decks which are particularly good at getting lots of lands in play.
Combat Professor image 3.5 This is a good Common. On its own, it is a 4-mana ⅔ with Flying that can be a 3/3 with Vigilance on your turn. That’s a pretty darn good rate for the mana investment, and you can actually put the Vigilance other places, which is just better! This is probably White’s best Common.
Unwilling Ingredient image 2.5 This is a solid little common. In the early game, it will chip in for a few damage, and be a good place to put +1/+1 counters. Then, in the later part of the game you can cash it in for a card, which always feels pretty good in Limited when you have the mana lying around.
Leyline Invocation image 2.5 This is often a 6-mana 8/8 or something like that in the late game for UG decks, and that makes it a solid thing to have at the top of your curve.
Witherbloom Pledgemage image 2.5 This has pretty good stats and a solid Magecraft trigger. BG likes to gain life, so it will really fit in well there.
Twinscroll Shaman image 2.0 Double strike ½ for three isn’t too bad, and makes this a good place to put counters or otherwise enhance it. That said, that doesn’t seem to be a HUGE focus for Red in this set, strange as that is.
Oggyar Battle-Seer image 2.0 This has mediocre stats, even with Haste, and while tapping to Scry is good, I don’t think it does enough to overcome this card’s inefficiency. You won’t always play this.
Pack 3 Pick 8: Field Trip
Hall Monitor image 3.5 Cheap cards that make something unable to block have a pretty good track record in Limited. Making just one thing unable to block is often enough to make your whole board capable of attacking, and, this thing is a Raging Goblin on turn one, which means it will get in for some damage early, and then in the later part of the game really make blocking difficult for your opponent. Seems like a great aggro card.
Inkling Summoning image 3.5 This Lesson is nice because it isn’t a complete disaster if you don’t get any cards with Learn and play it in your main deck. A three mana 2/1 with Flying is just fine, and this also triggers all the mage craft stuff of course. Obviously, if you have Learn, it is going to usually be better in the sideboard.
Cogwork Archivist image 0.5 I mostly don’t think you’ll play this. It has mediocre stats and an unexciting ability. The ability might be a little more useful in the RW deck, which likes it when things leave the graveyard, but mostly using this ability is super underwhelming. Now, if games in this format go long and you are out of cards and you can legit use this to draw the best card in your graveyard every turn, then it will be better than that -- but that won’t happen very often.
Biomathematician image 3.5 A three-mana 2/2 that makes a 1/1 is generally pretty good in Limited, and this comes with significant upside between the +1/+1 counter and the additional value you can get from having other fractals. This seems like a card in the lower range of first pickable, and a really strong Common.
Field Trip image 2.5 So, this pretty much just ramps for you, it doesn’t provide fixing because you can only get a Forest, and that’s a pretty big bummer. Still, ramping looks like a smarter strategy in ths format It does have Learn, which will either let you rummage or get a Lesson from your sideboard, and both of those are nice additional effects.
Guiding Voice image 3.0 All the cards with Learn and all the Lessons are big overperformers in this set, and this is an example of that. This effectively reads “Put a +1/+1 counter on a creature and draw a card that is pretty useful in this situation,” and that’s a great deal for one White mana. Especially in a format with a bunch of magecraft.
Pop Quiz image 3.0 This often just feels like a better Divination, since it draws you one card from your deck and one non-land card that is useful in your situation with the learn part. And its an Instant!
Stonerise Spirit image 2.5 This starts out with really reasonable stats, and then in the late game it can enable your payoffs for moving stuff out of your graveyard while also giving your other creatures flying. That late game mana sink is going to end games sometimes, but keep in mind that it is pretty expensive to use the ability, so you often won’t be able to make more than one thing fly.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Mercurial Transformation
Mercurial Transformation image 2.5 Neither mode on this is super awesome, but making an opposing creature into a 1/1, or one of yours into a 4/4 will sometimes be a reasonable thing to do, especially because you get this kind of for free in your hand off of a “Learn” effect. Keep in mind that you can use this after combat to turn an opposing creature into a 1/1, and if that creature took at least one damage, it will just die on the spot! It is situational to be sure, but because it is a lesson, you can get it when the situation calls for it.
Crushing Disappointment image 1.5 This isn’t amazing. 4-mana to draw 2 at instant speed is alright, and it is nice the life loss is symmetrical, but I tend to have a hard time getting behind this kind of card draw in Limited. It is pretty inefficient and expensive, and by choosing to spend 4 of you r mana to cast this you probably already paid some life in a way -- since you didn’t add to your board with that mana. Then, paying more life can be surprisingly painful. Again, it is nice that it can give you some reach against some opponents, and in BG especially you’ll be able to gain enough life that you don’t need to worry about it, but I still think this is a card that gets cut a reasonable chunk of the time.
Enthusiastic Study image 2.5 This is great in aggro decks, as it often helps you hit for a ton of trample damage – even saving your creature a decent chunk of the time – and ON TOP OF THAT, you get to learn, which Is just great.
Spiteful Squad image 2.5 4-mana 2/2s with Deathtouch normally arent the most exicting thing int he world. They can trade fo ranything, but doing that at 4 mana isn’t exactly exciting. I like that they compensated for that here by letting the Band put it +1/+1 counters on other stuff when it dies. This also means that it is a good place to put counters, since it will do something with them when it dies, unlike most creatures.
Relic Sloth image 2.5 This isn’t THAT far from being Serra Angel, right? I mean Menace is basically flying. Okay, I’m exaggerating a little bit here, but kind of to make a point. This is a pretty good vanilla creature, and while it costs 5, I imagine it makes the cut a lot of the time.
Defend the Campus image 2.0 I see this as two separate cards in many formats, and both of them are often cards you cut, just because they are a little too narrow. HOWEVER, by putting both of these effects on a single card, you end up with a better card. The effects are still narrow of course, but between the two effects one of them is going to be useful pretty often. This might all sounds like I think this is incredible -- but I just get excited about modal cards. It is a solid card that will actually make the cut a reasonable chunk of the time.
Soothsayer Adept image 1.5 This card has okay stats and it can loot, and that’s enough for it to be a reasonable inclusion in most decks. Looting isn’t a bad mana sink to have late, as it can really improve your draws.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Campus Guide
Blood Age General image 2.5 This is a Bear with some nice upside for the RW deck, which will have plenty of Spirits.
Spined Karok image 1.5 This has alright defensive stats for the cost. You’ll play it sometimes if that’s what you need. But mostly you hope you won’t need it.
Dragon's Approach image 0.0 This is a neat design, but not really one that will work out in Limited. Even if you get like, six of these in your draft, the chances you have the necessary ones in your graveyard at some point aren’t great -- and that’s without even mentioning that you ALSO need a dragon for that effect do anything. Basically, this is just a Lava Axe-type effect, and those normally don’t play great in Limited, since they cost you a card and don’t affect the board.
Owlin Shieldmage image 3.0 This is pretty good top-curve for BW aggro decks. It isn’t the most efficient flyer, but it often puts your opponent in a terrible place, where their live is low enough that they have to kill your flyer, but they have to pay 3 life to do it.
Professor's Warning image 1.5 If this card only did one of these two things, it would be terrible. One mana just isn’t a good rate for either of those things, even if they can help you out sometimes, what it does often won’t be worth a card. Making this modal make it better of course, and so does the fact that this set loves cheap spells as a result of Magecraft and other spell payoffs.
Campus Guide image 2.0 This has passable stats and it can fix for you, though keep in mind just putting a land on top is substantially worse than putting one in your hand. Still, if you’re trying to do some splashing this will help you do it. If you’re not splashing at all, though, it probably isn’t worth playing.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Square Up
Square Up image 1.0 This kind of card never really comes through. You can sort of treat it like a trick, but it is just too situational to even be reliable in that capacity. The idea here I guess is to use it on Fractals, but even that isn’t worth it to me.
Bayou Groff image 2.5 I like the upside we have here. It is either a 5-mana 5/4, a sort of passable card already, or a two mana 5/4 that you sacrifice a creature for. Doing the sacrifice thing can be a bit risky if you’re giving up a real card to cast it on turn two, since if your opponent can remove the Snagger or otherwise make it hard for it to attack, the cost will definitely not be worth it. BUT, just having the option available to you is great, and sometimes you’ll have very expendable creatures – like Pest tokens --, and you can double spell with this on like turn 5 if you give one of them up, which works for me.
Arcane Subtraction image 3.0 This is another Learn card that is way better than it looks! The effect doesn’t always do something worthwhile – fogging a single creature isn’t always impactful, but when the fail case is fogging a creature and drawing a card – while also triggering some magecraft – you are in a pretty good place with this card, especially because it has the very big upside of sometimes helping you kill a creature in combat.
First Day of Class image 1.5 If you’re only able to make one creature benefit from this it won’t feel all that good, even if you have a Lesson to grab. After all, most of the Lessons are actually mediocre cards, but they’re worthwhile because you get them for free when you Learn. So, you kind of need your card with Learn to do something worth close to a card, and if you’re just getting one counter and giving one thing Haste, I’m not sure you’re doing it here. “Learn” is sort of like “draw a card,” and does give you some card selection, but those cards to choose from just aren’t gonna be awesome. Keep in mind you can also choose to rummage instead of getting a Lesson, and sometimes that will be best. Now, where this does start to get interesting is when you play multiple creatures in a turn, which won’t be easy if you’re just casting a regular ol’ creature spell, but if you have ways to make multiple tokens in a turn, this will start to feel pretty good. All in all, I’m not super high on this to start, just because I don’t think it will be all that easy to make it work, but I could see myself being wrong here.
Eager First-Year image 2.5 This seems like your typical solid White two-drop. It starts out with a fine base line and has some decent upside. Could be particularly nice with combat tricks, since it will get the extra bonus. It is a solid card, but not much else.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Resculpt
Grinning Ignus image 2.0 Basically, the Ignus gives you something of a ritual effect. It gives you a short-term mana boost, but when you actually look at the mana you spend -- which is 3 to play it and one to use its ability, you actually come out behind! Still, the UR deck in this format looks interested in getting a bunch of mana in single turns for big crazy spells, so it probably has a home.
Thrilling Discovery image 1.5 I really want this to be good, because I am probably the most excited about Lorehold in this set -- but I just don’t think it will be that great. Early, it could be a nice way to both load up your graveyard for various synergies and improve your card quality, but there will be situations where you just can’t really make use of this, either because you don’t want to give up cards or you flat out can’t.
Resculpt image 1.0 People always overrate this type of card. They think of scenarios where you will exile one of your own artifacts or creatures and get a 4/4 out of the deal at Instant speed, and then you block an attacker or something. Or you use it in response to a removal spell and still get a 4/4 and all of that. But every time we see a card like this, even the one that made a 4/4 Angel, they just never line up as well as you might think at first. That situation I described just won’t happen as much as you want it to, and you’ll often find yourself in situations where this just isn’t worth casting. Now, it does have the ability to also go after opposing permanents, but giving your opponent a 4/4 in that case isn’t especially good most of the time either.
Twinscroll Shaman image 2.0 Double strike ½ for three isn’t too bad, and makes this a good place to put counters or otherwise enhance it. That said, that doesn’t seem to be a HUGE focus for Red in this set, strange as that is.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Teach by Example
Thrilling Discovery image 1.5 I really want this to be good, because I am probably the most excited about Lorehold in this set -- but I just don’t think it will be that great. Early, it could be a nice way to both load up your graveyard for various synergies and improve your card quality, but there will be situations where you just can’t really make use of this, either because you don’t want to give up cards or you flat out can’t.
Sudden Breakthrough image 1.5 This is a decent trick -- it gives a boost large enough for your creature to win combat most of the time -- and it gives you a Treasure for some fixing and ramping. But you’ll probably cut it a lot, after all, it is still a trick -- and that means it is risky and highly situational.
Teach by Example image 1.5 I know this format is all about spells and stuff, but I have a hard time thinking a card like this will be worthwhile very often. You have to have it line up the right way for it to do something. And sure, using it on a draw spell or something will feel pretty sweet, as will copying some of the huge wacky spells in UR, but it still seems like the set up is too much. This kind of spell isn’t good in most Limited formats, and I don’ think it will be here either.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Resculpt
First Day of Class image 1.5 If you’re only able to make one creature benefit from this it won’t feel all that good, even if you have a Lesson to grab. After all, most of the Lessons are actually mediocre cards, but they’re worthwhile because you get them for free when you Learn. So, you kind of need your card with Learn to do something worth close to a card, and if you’re just getting one counter and giving one thing Haste, I’m not sure you’re doing it here. “Learn” is sort of like “draw a card,” and does give you some card selection, but those cards to choose from just aren’t gonna be awesome. Keep in mind you can also choose to rummage instead of getting a Lesson, and sometimes that will be best. Now, where this does start to get interesting is when you play multiple creatures in a turn, which won’t be easy if you’re just casting a regular ol’ creature spell, but if you have ways to make multiple tokens in a turn, this will start to feel pretty good. All in all, I’m not super high on this to start, just because I don’t think it will be all that easy to make it work, but I could see myself being wrong here.
Resculpt image 1.0 People always overrate this type of card. They think of scenarios where you will exile one of your own artifacts or creatures and get a 4/4 out of the deal at Instant speed, and then you block an attacker or something. Or you use it in response to a removal spell and still get a 4/4 and all of that. But every time we see a card like this, even the one that made a 4/4 Angel, they just never line up as well as you might think at first. That situation I described just won’t happen as much as you want it to, and you’ll often find yourself in situations where this just isn’t worth casting. Now, it does have the ability to also go after opposing permanents, but giving your opponent a 4/4 in that case isn’t especially good most of the time either.
Pack 3 Pick 15: Twinscroll Shaman
Twinscroll Shaman image 2.0 Double strike ½ for three isn’t too bad, and makes this a good place to put counters or otherwise enhance it. That said, that doesn’t seem to be a HUGE focus for Red in this set, strange as that is.
Draft Pick Overview